Days of Ruin Never Ending
by Zavefed
Summary: My 1st FanFic! This story starts after the fall of Caulder's fortress. The universe is full of impossibilities. A strange leader of a small group of raiders stumbles upon some slight trouble with a sick girl. Raiders still roam the world and not all cities are safe. Rated T. It helps to know the AW series. OC with a OOC ? Tabitha. Evil is a subjective term. OCxTabitha
1. Homeless

Days Of Ruin…Never Ending

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did I would have made the Beast a playable character, along with Cyrus.

* * *

…She looked in the distance; the smoldering ruins of the impenetrable fortress throwing up smoke as more explosions appeared on the structure. Craters dotted the land around the fortress and lines of scorched earth streaked across the grounds.

A girl stood at a ridge a few miles away overlooking the destruction with a Rig parked a few feet from her. She had two ponytails to the side of her head tired with pink ribbons, she had an attire which completely went against that of a soldier in battle, her doll-like clothing covered with scorch marks.

"…This…can't…be…" Whispered the girl; her face was full of anger as she saw the enemy celebrating.

'_They…Will…Die!'_ Thoughts raged around her mind, gears going into overdrive, forming plans, strategies to crush those fools who dared to kill her father.

Her face began to show signs of fear and horror as she came to a realization; she had just lost her home, her family, and her means of survival. Noticing that even with her skills, above-average strength, reaction, and perception coupled with her knowledge of warfare, she would not live long without supplies.

'_Now is not a time for revenge…the enemy is in high spirits and I lack the required forces to defeat them…'_ the girl threw her fist at the nearby vehicle, the glass cracked but held due to the flexible reinforcement required to 'catch' bullets.

'_Well, I have ammunition but no weapons to use them and enough rations to last another day…two if I hold back.'_ Thought the girl as she climbed into the rig to evaluate her situation. She had no problems dealing with raiders since she could just overpower them at close range, but hoped that she would find supplies first since she lacked the energy to take care of even a couple of raiders.

'_This area may have forests but it definitely has no life, except non edible vegetation'_ the girl thought as she remembered how the new troops practiced their targeting skills in the forests around the now burning fortress. She started up the rig and headed southeast from her position. The collapsed fortress in the distance now shrinks as she moves forward.

'_I need to find a town…quickly'_ noting the state of her supplies in the rig. She had been rationing the supplies already and cutting back even further was putting a strain on her body.

'_Well the north is too cold considering what I'm wearing, the east is just a barren plain, and the west would just bring me back to some unpleasant battlefields.'_ She mapped out the various routes she could take but cringed at what she would encounter if she went south.

'_Surrounded by defeat in the northwest, west, south, and southwest…blocked by the snow in the north and northeast…and also blocked by the east…well this is one of the most unfortunate situations in my life!'_ She adjusted the direction of her vehicle to the southeast wanting to avoid staring at defeat if she went directly south.

'_Ugh…it's been hours and not a single sign of civilization in this forest!'_ her mental self was screaming at this predicament but her physical body wanted to rest.

'_Mustn't overwork my body now…ugh this seat is too rigid'_ the girl ripped off the passenger seat leaving the upright section intact. She headed to the back of the rig to lie down in the aisle between the munitions and used the ripped seat as a makeshift pillow.

The rig was feet from the edge of the forest and out in the distance was numerous hills dotted across the plains. The sun set slowly as time passed, the shadows of the cracks on the window door elongated as the sun drifted lower into the horizon.

* * *

Various vehicles were approaching an empty forest, the machines kicking up dust pushed forward on the plains. There was a figure in his mid-late teens, 17-18 years old, leading the various men forward toward the north.

"Sir! Do you see the smoke in the distance?" one of the ragged men gestured to the rising smoke with a flag, the flag bearing a crest with an axe to the right and left of the flag.

"Yeah…some of the northern raiders must have found a city to play with!" The teen looked happy at the sight knowing he could finally feed his men when they reached the smoking city.

"That must be some huge city if we can see the smoke all the way from here!" The man beside the flag-bearer yelled proudly.

The teen looked up at the drifting smoke_ 'when we reach the city I can finally feed my men! …Wait if those northern raiders did take a city of that size down then we might have a problem'_ the teen soon hanged his head in thought.

"MEN! Lets Stop!" The teen voiced out his thoughts and the trucks around him stopped. The clouds of dust slowly lifted as they stopped in their tracks.

"Why?" a young boy whined at the though of having those disgusting rations again. The thought of having stale crackers did not appeal to his tastes.

The teen got onto one of the trucks to talk to the men in front of him "We need to rest here! If there is a raider group strong enough to take a large city down then we need to rest up before we reach there!" All of the men accepted his reasoning and walked off to find a good patch of land to sleep, some taking longer but soon laid down. A couple of the boys whined about sleeping since they wouldn't be in the fray tomorrow.

The teen walked up to a group of men discussing how to organize the raiding parties when we reach the city. "I'm going to scout ahead and see the status of the city, you guys need to rest up and I'll get what we need to know"

"But Boss!" one of the largest men in the group complained "What if you get hurt without us to be there for you?"

'_He was right…what IF I met some trouble and got hurt?'_ the teen frowned slightly at the man's words.

"Don't worry do you forget what I can do? I can ride away when I meet some trouble, terrain means nothing to me!" the teen beamed as everyone nodded knowing his skill would come in handy if he did meet trouble.

The group knew that they would only slow the boss down since his skills only worked for himself when they weren't in battle. They also knew that he was pretty capable but had some weird tastes when not in battle, the group sighed as they watched the teen walk away with his favorite gas mask tied to his arm.

'_Maybe that forest can provide us with some meat as we get closer'_ the teen thought as he walked toward his motorbike.

'_Well it might not be much but it will keep us happy if I ever find some meat…no no no I need to scout…but first I need this on' _the teen took off this gas mask from his arm and put it on, the filtering canister off to the left of the mask. He always felt relaxed whenever he had his mouth and nose covered for some reason.

"I'll be back tomorrow morning! Get some rest guys!" as he pulled the mask aside to yell back at the group and quickly repositioned the mask on his face. _'Hopefully the men had enough brains to decide against getting a hangover for the upcoming battle.'_ He sighed beneath his mask as he saw the men laughing and lightly hitting each other.

The teen started up the motorbike and drove across the wastelands with ease; any other person would take hours to traverse this.

"Hmm?" he looked forward to see what seems to be a box-like thing near eastern side of the forest. He stopped the motor and took out a sleeping bag attached to his bike.

'_Well it IS getting dark…I might have been seeing things.'_ He rubbed his eyes but found it hard to yawn with his mask in the way so he retied it to his arm.

'_Damn…if I had known that large cities looked like closer small cities I would have led the men closer before resting.' _He thought as he mentally facepalmed himself. _'Might as well check out that box-like thing in the east before I get back to the men.'_ He drifted off to sleep his bike to his side and the sun already downed on his left, the dark gray clouds parted a bit to show the lowering orb.


	2. Denying Death

Days Of Ruin…Never Ending…2

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did I would have made a hard-er mode.

* * *

A teen awoke from his sleep and he tried to straighten out his arms to find the sleeping bag in his way. He got out and ate some rations before attempting to find out the time. He rolled the sleeping bag up and tied it back to the end of the cycle. He also brought his bag in case this hike took longer than expected…again.

'_Looks like the sun hasn't risen yet…good I can make it on time…but first time to look at the box-like thing'_ he thought as he observed the darker west and brighter eastern clouds. He got up and began to walk toward the object, leaving his bike but keeping his pistol in its holster and his knife in his hand.

As the distance closed, a smile began to form on his face _'A rig! Just what we need…hopefully it still has enough gas to last the trip back to the encampment'_ this was going to help him greatly in the upcoming battle.

He walked around the vehicle noting that the only damage it had was the crack on the door to the drivers' side. _'Looks like I don't have to waste an entire clip to get in'_ he thought as he began picking away at the cracks with his knife.

It was tedious work but he knew that bullets were precious commodities in the current world. A hole big enough to get his arm through was created. He looked at his work proudly and removed the mask on his arm to reach into the rig. A soft click made him smile as he opened the door; the inside wasn't so bad except the missing seat cushion for the passenger's seat. He was about to enter the storage area of the rig but he stopped as he remembered something.

'_Argh what a pain…this rig needs to be identifiable'_ He went out to reach in his pack to grab a flag a little longer than his leg, the flag unfurled showing an insignia with two axes. _'Now where to put it…they should know its me when they see the reflective square on the top right corner of the flag'_ He thought about using tape but the ride was too bumpy for even tape to hold and holding the flag out the window while driving would be too distracting for me. _'How about jamming it in-between the roof hatch of the rig? Yeah that would do it, I just need to find a pole to tie it to.'_

He threw this pack into the rig and hopped in slamming the door shut. _'I'll figure it our when I can see the camp later on'_ He held his breath when he heard ragged breathing coming from the back of the rig. _'Wait! There was someone here?'_ He readied his knife and turned to find the removed portion of the passenger seat on the aisle, but this was not the reason he paled for, he paled when his eyes saw the figure on the floor. She was sweating a lot…her face had a pained expression and she was groaning in pain while she slept.

'_Damn she really is in pain…wait…what would happen to me if I woke her up?'_ Eying her pained expression forced him to act.

'_God damnit…if I die I know I die helping those in pain' _He knelt down by her and shook her by the shoulders.

"Hey! Wake UP! Snap Out of it!" He increased his volume as he saw her forming tears. This was just like what happened in his past. Most of his men died from their last raid and he would never forget the faces of those in pain…there was no hope in them when their wounds kept bleeding.

His grip was loosening as she was rejecting the touch violently. He had no medical knowledge and didn't know if she was dying or not._ 'No! She's losing it!'_ He hugged her tightly and expected her to thrash violently but felt no resistance. Her head slumped on his shoulder, her tears streaking down his jacket.

'_Wait NO! …Thank god…'_ He realized that she had not died but had slipped further into unconsciousness, he exhaled, his breath full of relief. He grabbed his pack and replaced the seat cushion with it and draped his flag over her leaving her head exposed. Her breathing was soft and slow as he replaced the cushion and her face relaxed as her placed the makeshift blanket on her.

'_Gotta get her back to my guys…I still don't think she's ok…'_ He grabbed his mask and put it on, he felt calmer but not enough to ignore the current situation. His eyes sharpened and focused on the terrain of the wasteland ahead, thoughts raced across his mind. He started up the engine of the rig and bid farewell to his bike in the distance, he glanced behind his shoulder checking the girl's condition and he slowly accelerated taking to account his passenger inside.

His ability was in full effect, the wasteland posing no problem to his vehicle, the surroundings were quickly moving past the vehicle as if he was driving on a road instead of a wasteland. It took him less then half the time to arrive back then it was to leave.

As the rig approached the camp, the men faced the incoming vehicle. Some of the men in the encampment raised their rifles at the incoming rig but a large man knocked one down and yelled at the others, the men lowered their rifles and waited for the rig to arrive.

The rig slowly decelerated and reached the group and the driver door burst open, revealing their leader with his mask on.

The men were surprised to see their leader so angry, his eyes darting around trying to search. They were even more surprised to hear him clearly yell, behind his mask. "GET THE MEDICAL TEAM HERE!" The men soon scattered, recognizing that this was an emergency from the panic in their leader's voice, men woke up men from their slumber and some gathered the medical supplies while a few stood there in fear.

"What happened? Did you get hurt?" The large man rushed over assessing the condition of his boss.

"No! I just don't want IT to happen AGAIN!" The leader had a look so fierce it crushed anyone's plan of speaking to him, save for the large man.

"I understand…just one right?" The leader just nodded as the man finished his words.

"Do you mind bringing him out so we can save him?" The man soon left when he saw his boss nod and head toward the rig.

The man spoke to the scrambling men "You all know what happened in the last raid?" The men winced at these words and calmed down. "The boss just wants to save those he could not and now he was given a chance. Lets move! Get the tent ready and the medicine ready! We don't know what to expect!" The men hastily constructed a tent with a bed made from the cushions of one of the transport trucks.

The large man entered the tent and greeted the people inside, they were an assortment of people from different areas but none too complicated. They knew how to set bones, cure infections and perform minor surgery.

"I've never seen him that panicked since the last raid, and you know I will supervise this to see that all goes well." The men in the tent nodded grimly and prepared what they might need.

As the teen approached the rig he felt a knot forming in his stomach _'I'm not going to lose her!'_ he gripped his stomach and headed toward the rear doors of the rig. When he opened up to see the girl still sleeping he felt the knot disappear and proceeded to get her.

"What the…" One man said.

"Whoa…no wonder" Another man said.

The volume outside the tent was rising and the large man inside started to walk toward the entrance before a figure burst from the flaps of the entrance. There were surprised reactions among the 'medics' as their leader walked in carrying a girl bridal style into the tent. Their leader quickly spotted the makeshift bed and placed her on it pulling a blanket over her until her shoulders.

One of the men, the bone-setter, said, "she looks perfectly fine! Whats the prob with her?" These words earned him a glare from his leader, which quickly shut him up.

"…Malnutrition, dehydration, and a fever…" muttered the surgeon "We can easily help with the first two but the second…" he continued.

"We also don't have the proper medicine for sicknesses…just a little anesthesia for surgery" said the man who knew infections and sicknesses, he also added "I just think that it is a regular sickness…there must have been something which made it seem worse…leader, what else did you see?"

"I think what I saw was just the combination, she had gotten sick and must've had a nightmare." The teen said sighing deeply and then dropping to the ground…unconscious.

"Is he injured too?" said the surprised surgeon.

"Nope…he just spent all his energy trying to save someone…lets get a second bed up in here," the large man said as he propped up his boss in an upright position against one tent pole.

The four men left the tent and went to explain to the men outside what happened, they all tensed up when they heard that he fell unconscious but soon relaxed as they heard the large man's explanation. Men brought a hastily made bed for their leader and positioned the bed across from the girl's. They left the large man to toss their leader into the bed "That was for making all of us worry…" said the man as he left with the others in the tent.

* * *

A/N Still having slight difficulty with the characters. Also, forgive me if I'm being too descriptive (I love details, that's why.)


	3. First Signs

Days Of Ruin3…Never Ending

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did I would have added more COs.

* * *

"Guys! Lets get the equipment loaded!" The deep voice had a commanding tone. The voice and the sound of engines starting outside awoke a certain leader.

"Argh…my head…wait where is my mask?" He said worriedly as he saw his mask next to his head.

"And where is that girl? ...The girl!" he threw off his blanket and got up to see her sleeping peacefully in the bed.

'_She might wake up now…better get some food for the both of us.'_ He thought as he left the flaps of the tent, leaving the girl to her sleep.

As he walked to one of the trucks that had food stored in it he greeted the men he passed and assured them that he was fine. He opened up the back doors of the truck to see an older man, probably in his 50's or 60's, the old man grinned as he tossed two cans of food into the hands of the young leader.

"Are you sure Shopkeeper?" He said to the grinning Shopkeeper.

"It's on the house, no need for your bullets this time boy!" The shopkeeper smiled and shook his head when he saw the leader trying to hand him a clip of bullets. He then grabbed some papers and headed to the back of the truck, probably to do inventory on our remaining supplies.

The leader headed back to the tent after grabbing some utensils and a can opener from one of the supply cabinets. He heard something in the back of the truck but dismissed it.

"Ah I wish I was young again…" sighed the shopkeeper as he looked over the remaining cans of food.

As the leader parted the tent's flaps he was the girl still sleeping, her pale blue hair would be pretty long if it wasn't tied into ponytails. He sat next to her sleeping form and attempted to wake her by nudging her shoulder. She started to stir and he just sat watching her, his mind paused for a bit as he saw that she had yellow eyes. It wasn't those eyes of the sick, it seemed that it was her normal eye color.

"Where the hell am I! And Who the hel-" She was cut off by a strong sound of grumbling coming from her stomach and as soon as she noticed this she blushed slightly out of embarrassment. She mentally kicked herself as she felt herself robbed of energy.

The leader smiled and also blushed as his stomach rumbled soon after hers. He took out two cans of food and started opening them with the can opener. The girl was eying the teen cautiously, prepared to attack if he did anything wrong since she knew the insignia on the blanket in front of her. The leader sighed as he opened the second can and handed it to her with a fork, with caution she snatched the can with the fork and started eating the food in the can.

"Those are pretty rare these days and you should be lucky those canned sausages still exist…" The leader muttered trying to keep her from hearing it, but due to her enhanced senses she could hear him clearly.

"S…Sh…shut up I'm just hungry! …Thanks" She said cautiously glancing back at the smiling teen. She mentally kicked herself again as she stammered. 'I hate my weakness!' She thought as she quickly ate the can's contents.

There was silence as both greedily ate the canned food and the first to break the silence was the leader of the men.

"S…so Whats your name?" He asked as politely as he could. He only knew how to speak with men due to the lack of women in the group so he tried to be as polite as possible.

"Tabitha…" The girl said this kindly and asked back "Whats your name?"

"Don't have one…well I go by other names the group gives me." His sad sounding sentence soon had a happy tone as he finished.

"Like what names?" She asked.

"Well they call my Boss, Leader, etc…and one calls me boy…well, he calls everyone boy since he is the oldest in the group…" She just stared at him with a skeptical expression and started laughing as soon as he said that he was called "boy"

"Hey! Don't take this as a joke! I am the leader!" He said to her then waited for her to calm down.

She was still laughing a me a bit "You? Haha…a leader? Aren't you too young?" her laughter was clearly irritating the self-proclaimed leader.

She immediately stopped laughing as a huge man came through the entrance of the tent. She guessed immediately that this was the real leader of the group of men. His huge figure was powerful enough to take on maybe four or five IDS soldiers barehanded.

"Boss! I heard yelling here! Is there anything wrong?" The man looked puzzled at the laughing of his leader with the previously sleeping girl was sitting upright with her mouth open.

"That was priceless! Thanks John!" The leader said this in-between laughs patting John's back as he laughed.

The large man, John, understood what had happened, it always happened whenever the group tried to recruit civilians from ruins. He smiled and said to the girl. "The world is full of surprises…keep an open mind!" He said as his laugh could still be heard from the outside.

"…Well that was unexpected…" Tabitha said as she tried to compose herself. "Well you're a leader of a group of bandits, where are you headed?" she said, she guessed that the two guys could be trustworthy since they were playful.

"Well you see, we're headed in the direction of the smoke off in the distance past the forest, the northern bandits must have found a large city to raid and we need supplies to feed the group…I guessed that if there was a large enough bandit group to take down a city we would have some problems. So we just want to head there to gather supplies while avoiding the northerners." He said calmly stating his plans.

Tabitha's face showed signs of anger as she was forced to remember what had happened to the fortress. "You can't go there…your group would be instantly decimated by their forces." She said bitterly, her anger focused on the troops that had celebrated. "Your forces wouldn't stand a chance against their tanks…" Her once angry voice now shifted into sadness.

"Wait! They have tanks? More than one? We only have enough firepower to take out just one medium tank! …Wait you came from that city?" He was facing a dilemma right now, to the north was the northern bandits' army and to the south was the previous group of bandits that defeated them.

"…Yes, you see I lived in that place for a long time, I knew it had superb defenses…but my home was still destroyed!" She was depressed, the memories came back to haunt her, she was too exhausted; depressed, saddened to feel like her usual self.

"So you escaped with the rig but ran out of supplies?" He asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

She nodded and attempted to get out of the bed, she nearly fell but the leader supported her, his arm at her side keeping her stable.

"Well, change of plans, I have to tell the rest about the change in direction. Do you know the area?" The Leader asked

She nodded and winced in pain from moving too quickly. _'My life is ruined, no home, no family to go to, and no hope…well… hope can still be found…'_ she thought as she smiled weakly up at the teen.

"Lets get some water before I speak to the men, ok?" He told Tabitha as they walked slowly to the water truck.

'_The group of men had prepared themselves pretty well, they have supplies, weapons, transportation, and a leader.'_ She thought as they both walked slowly through the men in the midst of preparations. She closed her eyes and let her supporter guide her. Some men ran by diligently with supplies and boxes, some just stood and watched the walking couple head toward the water truck. Those that stood were quickly put back on track when John slapped them on their backs.

When they arrived at the truck he pulled out an empty bottle that stood out from the rest, it had black lines on its side distinguishing it from the rest of the clear bottles on the rack. The leader propped Tabitha against the side of the truck while he filled the bottle.

"Why is your bottle different from the others?" Tabitha inquired, cutting into the sounds of men in the midst of loading.

"Oh, I'm probably the only one that cleans their bottle, the rest just chuck it in the back and grab another when they feel thirsty. Would _you_ want to drink out of dirty bottles?" The leader explained as he finished filling his bottle. He handed it to Tabitha for her to drink and waited next to her as she drank from the 'cleaner than usual' bottle.

"Thanks" She said, her body feeling refreshed with the water.

"No problem, water always tastes the best after going a while without it." He stated as he walked over to the back to refill his bottle.

"Tabitha?" The leader called.

"Yes?" She answered

"We need a plan to defeat the southern bandits if we obviously can't head north." Said the leader grimly.

"There is a factory in the southeast, there may be enough supplies in there for a day and a bonus or two with the fuel depots located on the grounds." She said while pointing in the general direction of the factory.

"They won't be happy but I'll make them move." The leader said optimistically.

The sounds of supplies being moved clattered through the raider's camp, the occasional clang of steel resounded as men hefted ammunition boxes from the rig into their trucks.


	4. The Start Of It All

Days Of Ruin4…Never Ending

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did I would have made multiple campaigns.

* * *

It was midday when the men sat in the transports. Supply and munitions trucks trailed the transports and the transports were following a black rig, it looked as if the entire convoy drove through the wastelands and forests as if they were roads. The black rig at the front was missing a door window and at the top was a flag bearing two axes opposite each other to the right and left and had a reflective patch on the top right corner that appeared to flash back when it was hit by a beam of light.

The leader was with Tabitha inside the black rig. The leader in the driver's seat and Tabitha on the passenger seat with the cushion placed loosely on top of the ripped base. Tabitha stared at the passing rocky and wooded surroundings with amazement.

"H…How? I've never heard of a commanding officer having such extraordinary abilities!" She said in amazement directed at the driver.

"Hmm? 'Commanding Officer?' I guess that's what you call those with abilities, but unfortunately I'm not in any sort of military. I'm just a regular human…probably." He said with his gas mask on, his eyes focused on the terrain ahead with cold eyes.

She just sat there taking in the information quietly. _'With just those basic abilities one could remove most variables associated with moving in unsuitable terrain!'_ Her thoughts were wildly forming plans but were soon cut off by a voice beneath a mask that still had clarity.

"I refrain from using violence at all times…but there are exceptions…_like when I had to get you treatment_…" He mumbled the last few words, but still Tabitha's enhanced hearing could hear what he had said, Tabitha blushed slightly at those words forgetting revenge for a good few hours.

As they drove further southeast Tabitha pointed off in the distance toward a lone smokestack in the distance, the leader nodded and grabbed a radio. "All vehicles prepare to stop and engage potential threats" Soon after, the combat bikes and transports stopped closer to the distant factory and the supply trucks were already stationed a few miles behind the combatants.

"The hell?" One of the men pointed at the moving forms exiting the factory. The forms slowly treaded through the wastelands around the factory.

Tabitha knew that the factories near here had automated defense forces so she got the attention of the leader still in his seat staring at the forms.

"Don't worry, those are not manned. Those are the automated rocket units out in the distance and there aren't any people in the vicinity, save for this group." She saw a calm expression roll over his face as he heard her words, replacing the panic that was present before.

The leader exited the rig to see that his men had prepared an enhanced war bike, not with one regular machine gun for the sidecar but another machine gun for the driver, two mechanics stood by the side with proud expressions on their face as if they created a masterpiece.

"Did you two just add another gun?" The leader said sighing. The two mechanics beamed with joy as they noticed that he knew what they did.

Tabitha got out of the rig to see what was keeping him, seeing the embarrassment of an upgrade before her she wondered how their leader put up with all of this. She walked over and tapped the gun and then the section where they welded it, she also started the motor and soon found out that the vibrations shook the weld to pieces and heard the crashing of the added gun on the ground.

"A masterpiece huh? You guys cant even weld properly!" She laughed and pitied them mentally. "Geez…is most of your group stupid?" She directed that comment to the leader who sighed at those words, he knew many of them and many of them were basically useless for anything besides war.

"Just put the extra gun inside of the seat, we'll use it when we need it." She said sighing, noticing the relieved expressions on the mechanics they were probably happy they were of some use.

"Wait, WE?" The leader said to Tabitha as she sat in the sidecar of the bike.

"Of course WE! You expect John to sit in an already small sidecar with a smaller than usual sitting area?" The leader knew she was right, John already had problems in an empty sidecar and he couldn't sit there since he had to pay attention to the terrain in order to get good mobility.

"You better be a good shot…no one here is as skilled as John and I." He said triumphantly.

"Oh really? See that bottle cap there? I'll shoot it off for you." She adjusted the sights on the machine gun to match her sights and fired a single shot. The bullet cleanly slice through the bottle cap and the bottle slowly drops onto the ground leaving a melting valley of plastic by the bottle's neck.

"Well…you're welcome to assist me anytime Tabitha…" His voice trailed off near the end but her hearing still caught the words.

She smiled at her victory and sat comfortably in the sidecar waiting for the leader to notice that he had dropped his keys when her bullet hit.

Still quite disturbed by Tabitha's perfect accuracy, he pulled the mask away to clear his throat and repositioned it to talk to the men in their bikes and sidecars. "They only have ranged units! Lets move as swift as a meteor and be as deadly as one too!" His words were answered by the war cries of his men.

The men drove toward the rocket units and rockets began raining down on their position a little forward of the parked rig. As the rockets were readying for another salvo they were given an abrupt command by the control system,_ to retreat_, since bikes were riding through the wasteland around the base as if it was paved concrete. This greatly altered the conditions the rockets were forced to fight in. The wheels of the rockets were going in full reverse but the wasteland that was supposed to give them an advantage had turned into their enemy, causing their retreat to slow to a crawl.

The approaching bikes ripped through the retreating lines of rockets, their machine guns ripping through the unarmored systems of the units causing them to shut down and stop. The men knew this tactic all too well. The enemy would use the terrain as a wall to slow the approach of the enemy but our mobility would render the wastelands and forests useless, crushing the ranged units they treasure so much.

The gates of the factory opened again but no rockets came out, instead there were tanks, one unit of regular tanks barred entrance to the facility, their cannons aimed at us. Commands were sent through the tanks…-Mobilizing armored division to counter infantry-… -Predicted damage negligible-…-Units engage targets-

The cannons fired, none of the rounds hit the bikes but the shrapnel it created would rip through these flimsy bikes like paper…in a normal situation. The men braced themselves for the worst expecting shrapnel to tear through them and their bikes, but they came out with only minor cuts and burns. The first to notice this miracle was the leader who saw Tabitha calmly shooting at the tanks hell shots ripping through the sensors, effectively disabling the war machine.

"How did we…How did you…how?" This was all he said as he looked around. He checked the status of his men, and all came through the black cloud of shrapnel unharmed.

"Oh that's easy to explain. I have CO abilities too and it helps that the rest were in very close proximity to me." She said this calmly as her bullets disabled another set of sensors of a tank.

"Your abilities are insane! Who has enough power to defend and damage to this degree?" He was yelling through the sounds of battle and through his mask attempting to piece the miracle together in his mind.

"Well your abilities are impossible! Who has the power to make even wastelands as efficient as roads? Your abilities don't exist in any recorded battles!" She also screamed, voicing out her frustration at the impossibility in front of her.

"Well the both of us are unbelievable, even to each other, let's talk after this is all over ok?" He smiled beneath his mask at the thought of not being the only impossibility in this world anymore.

Tabitha sighed and went back to downing those annoying tanks in front of her_. 'Well, even if father is gone I'm still not the only impossibility still in this world.'_ She smiled inwardly at the thought. _'Not alone'_

The two created their plan on the spot, with their mobility, damage, and defense they would tear at the dwindling number of tanks.

* * *

Sensor information was dropping quickly, the system did not have enough data to make efficient decisions and the inner doors of the facility began to close shut. …-Error in battle calculations-…-Shutting down facility to prevent unit and data extraction-…-Shutting…Do…wn…- The sensors throughout the facility along with the remaining tanks shut down, their lights dimming and circuits locking.

* * *

'_Hmph…the system finally gave way… no surprise since the new introduced variable messed with the calculations.'_ She mentally smiled at the thought of the "variable" the system encountered.

After the battle had been won some men were sent to investigate the exterior and some were sent to fetch the supply vehicles parked in the distance. All the doors have been shut in response to the system shutdown and there was not a single opening to enter from. Guards were stationed by the gate entrance to greet any visitors that became attracted to the rising smoke coming from the debris of the battle. Most of the trucks were parked within the confines of the gate and men gathered to celebrate their victory around the light of the fires coming from the steel drums.

Though the sounds of the celebrating unnerved her slightly she was able to sleep in the tent made for three. To the right was Tabitha in her bed, in the center was the group's leader in his bed, and to the left was a large, but empty bed that was most likely John's since no one else had his large stature. John was out drinking with the rest outside, their leader was sleeping because of the battle, and Tabitha was laying on the bed, her "normal" attire replaced by the leader's spare shirt that was big enough to be a small dress for her. She drifted off to sleep, her long hair was freed from the usual restrictions of her ribbons, her face was smiling slightly as the sounds of celebration echoed through the night.

* * *

A/N I'm still getting the hang of writing these stories. Please forgive any mistakes i might have overlooked. -Hides chapters labeled 5,6,7,8,9 and 10 from view.-


	5. Meteoric Legacy

Days Of Ruin5…Never Ending

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did I would have made the world more hellish.

* * *

The sound of grumbling and complaining was growing louder by the passing minute. Tabitha was about to force herself to wake up and beat those guys unconscious when she heard another voice join the fray. It was the voice of their leader without his mask on to muffle his words.

'_Finally some peace and quiet…'_ She was about to drift asleep again but was interrupted by shouts. She cursed herself since having sensitive hearing was not always beneficial.

"Boss!" A deep voice called for their leader_. 'Must be John…'_ Tabitha thought

"Leader!" An unfamiliar voice called out too. _'Another grunt to annoy me…'_ She rolled her eyes at the thought

"Boy!" The voice of an elderly man cut through the rest of the voices. _'Boy? …Haha this just gets more interesting by the moment!'_ Tabitha tried to hold back a giggle but couldn't since she wasn't expecting this voice.

After the Shopkeeper called out to the leader of the men, all the voices quickly silenced themselves out of respect for the old man, all except Tabitha's, her laughing fit grabbed the attention of the leader who went to check up on her. He was surprised to find Tabitha laughing, a tear of laughter forming at the corner of her eye.

"He called you boy!" She was laughing at the leader and didn't notice his blush of embarrassment.

"Well…he is the oldest person here! He's like our father we never had, so we might as well let him call us his sons." He was trying to get angry at her but her laughter stopped him in his tracks…cold.

"Let me change. I'll meet the group later." With her laughing stopped, she shoves him out of the tent.

"Whoa. I'll clear things up with the guys before you even get dressed." He said as he nearly fell at her surprisingly strong shove.

"Not likely if it concerns the facility." She says behind the flaps of the tent.

"Then I'll just wait here for you," He says facing the tent entrance.

He heard the rustling of clothing in front of him and the whistle of the wind running through the facility behind him.

He remembers he forgot something inside the tent so he called out to her. "Tabitha! If you see my mask beside my bed can you bring it out when you're done?"

"Sure. Is this the only mask you have?" She eyed the mask in side the tent, it only covered the face below the eyes and had black colorings all over with a slightly damaged canister that jutted out to the left of the mask. _'Why is he so attached to this mask?'_ the thought wandered into her mind as she gave it a final look.

"There's only one mask I have, and thanks." He said this as a wind rushed past his face toward the tent parting the flaps that divided the two people. He noticed three things…one, his favorite mask…two, a high-pitched scream…and three…what was behind those flaps.

Just before he started blushing all the color drained from his face…"M…y…g…o…d…" His voice weakly ended with his collapse on the concrete. _'Heaven and hell…such…a…fine…line…dividing…the…tw-urgh…pain…'_

'_No! This cant be happening!_' Thought Tabitha as she immediately reacted to the increased intensity of the light behind her. "NO!"

She screamed in embarrassment while at the same time throwing the gas mask in her hand full force into the leader's stomach. She blushed furiously and put on her clothes as fast as possible. As soon as she got her clothes on she knelt down beside the crumpled unconscious form of the leader.

"What's the matte…oh my what happened here?" Said the Shopkeeper as he saw various things. His unconscious leader, the parted flaps of the tent, the kneeling girl who had mixed emotions…mostly of regret.

"Wind…" She growled fiercely at those words, putting as much malice in those four letters as possible.

"I see…"he grasped the situation by using his knowledge over the years. "John! Clear it!" the old man yelled out commands to the large man.

John heard the words of the shopkeeper and quickly ushered the men out of the nearby area. He soon headed toward the Shopkeeper after completing his task. He came to the front of the tent and was shocked at what happened to his boss. "Boss!" he yelled.

The old man calmed the giant down and also calmed the girl too. He explained to the girl that their leader was only unconscious and he explained the situation to John while Tabitha nodded and stared in awe at the near-perfect recollection of events.

John was smiling on the inside _'That wasn't a fight…that was a beating…wow… my wife would have done that to me if I had made a mistake back then…'_ his smile turned into a frown at the thought of a woman half his size beating him. A smile reformed in his mind as he thought _'Well if I were to be beaten in a fight I would take either her or Boss.'_

* * *

The leader was back in his bed, his breathing calm and composed. Tabitha's mind was filled with worry and fear over losing who she considers to be her only friend. She knew her strength all too well, she could take down John in a fight, albeit hard fight, so she knew the power she had in her small frame.

...

Within the mind of the unconscious leader a certain dream was taking place. In the distance was the sight of a gigantic missile falling over, smoke rising from the destroyed remains. The land closer to his sight came into focus and there stood a figure swaying as it stood. The figure was wearing black with an orange face mask_. 'Whoa that must have been custom made for him, wow. As much as I like the mask of his, it seems too restraining…well he must've liked it a lot to be that determined to wear it. Wait… no! Don't die! NO!_' He was impressed by the figure's tastes, but when the image of the figure focused he saw what was causing the figure to sway slightly.

He could see the fatal wounds strewn across his body. Attached to the figure were numerous black but slightly transparent lights. He was exhaling dense clouds of steam…he was in serious pain by the looks of his harsh breathing. He held a black sphere in his gloved hands and released his grip, letting the sphere slowly rise into the sky.

As this was all happening, thoughts were racing through the leader's mind _'Get help now! You can still walk!'_ he suddenly took an ethereal form and attempted to usher the man to safety but to no avail. His hands immediately passed through the figure he tried to save.

'_Damnit even in dreams I cant save even one person!' _He looked at the figure; the steam that escaped his mask seemed to lessen down with each breath.

'_Damnit! DAMNIT! WHY! WH-'_ his anger came to a stop as he strained to hear the forced words of the figure.

"My time…it seems as my body is failing me…" The figure fell to one knee in pain.

"You …will…go…" He struggled to say this as he attempts to stand up.

"Follow the herd…" He raises a hand toward the sky, his head tilted up toward the rising sphere.

The leader is now shown a vast expanse in space…meteors following a straight path deep into space…his sight is brought back to the figure, his arm still outstretched.

The dark lights expanded around him and engulf the figure, reducing his physical body to ash. The wind picks up the ashes and throws it into the sky above.

An after image of the figure remains standing where the body was destroyed.

"I have lost. I have lost this chance." His ethereal form starts to disappear starting from the ground up.

"Live the life I have forsaken. Live and Save!" His form below his chest starts to fade and dissipate into the air.

"I have only killed and destroyed…perhaps if you follow the path I scorned…you will survive." His form below his head had already evaporated, the process still continuing relentlessly.

"These are my last words I give to you…" The figure's head has already disappeared, leaving his outstretched hand floating still pointing toward the ever-rising black orb.

"Do what I have not…save…protect…live…love…" And with those fading last words, his hand leaves the plain of existence shooting a beam of white light up toward the black sphere, giving it the energy to break free from the grasp of gravity, and enough energy to bring the sphere to the center of a vast cluster of meteors… the remaining energy builds on the outside of the sphere until it becomes a shell resembling any other meteor found in the vast expanse of space.

The leader stood on the field. He looked down to see the ashes gone. He looked around him to see the empty space in front of him, devoid of the figure's ethereal form. He looked up, and his face had tears streaking down his cheeks as he saw the legacy of the figure in the middle of the 'herd' He never knew the figure, but he felt the sadness of being powerless to help.

The leader stood there as he saw the surroundings fade into whiteness. This dream was no dream. He felt as if it was a nightmare, but he felt odd calling it a nightmare. The sadness left by the nightmare caused him to clutch his shoulders and weep. He was thinking he would die of sadness but he felt a warm flame in the distance…it was small, but it easily soothed his sadness as he approached the light. He felt the sudden urge to embrace the flame, not fearing the burns he would receive.

His world turned black as soon as he embraced the flame.

* * *

A/N And there is the connection with the AW2 story! I hope you can piece the information together!


	6. His First Connection

Days Of Ruin6…Never Ending

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did I would have developed more units and structures.

* * *

Within the dark world, he heard crying…it was not his…the sound was strangely familiar to him…it reminded him of someone…this was Tabitha's voice!

"…Tabitha?" His voice was faint but she definitely heard him.

He felt the darkness lift as the warmth moved further away. He refused to leave the warmth and brought up his arms to hug the flame closer.

"Eep! Wait! No!" Tabitha's surprised voice reached his ears.

"Please get off!" Tabitha slowly pried the leader's arms off her while blushing at the thought of what he just did.

"What did I do?" He asked while blinking, unaware of what he just did to her.

"…You hugged me…" Was all she let out blushing while trying to wipe the tears from her face.

"So that was the soothing flame I saw…" He whispered under his breath, unaware that Tabitha caught his words. He soon noticed what was wrong with the both of them.

"Why are you crying? …Wait… why am I crying too?" He felt his tears on his face and he soon remembered the nightmare he just had, a wave of intense sadness washed over him and his tears flowed out even more.

He felt Tabitha's hand on his and felt the sadness erode away from his body. He figured out that she had helped him survive that nightmare and soon pulled Tabitha into an embrace. She was shocked at his response and she soon returned the hug with her own.

"I don't want to be alone again!" She had said this with fear in her voice. He quickly gave a nod assuring his safety.

The two released their embrace and sat in front of each other, facing each other on their bedsides.

The leader thought deeply before breaking the embarrassing silence. "I need a name." He said, his voice still recovering from the paralyzing hold of the nightmare.

"I need something to be remembered by and I want you to call me by name instead of boss or leader." He stated, his voice was clearer than before.

He followed up by saying confidently "Why don't you give me a name? I'm sure I wont hate it."

"Sure." Deep inside she was really happy that he asked her to give him a name. _'Hmm...I want something not too long, hard to pronounce, or hard to remember.'_ Tabitha strangely felt her mind blanking out. She thought hard and found out how difficult naming was. She also noted at how her train of thought had changed just a few days ago.

'_He changed me so much!"_ She thought back to how she would've done to him if her father were still alive, she stopped thinking about that and went back to the matter she was faced with._ "…So I know that he likes black and is a unique person…that much I can gather…'_ Tapping into her limited knowledge of astronomy she just felt the associated words pass by until one caught her attention.

"How bout Zenith? Your nickname would be Zene!" She proudly started to explain why she ha chosen it.

She stood up with her hands placed on her hips and began her speech. "It seemed as if I wouldn't find a good name if I just picked a name based on the two words that describe you, black and unique." She sighed as if she had reached a dead end.

"You are an impossibility for the people, you have powers that outmatch even the _best_!" She emphasized the word "best" as much a possible as she spoke.

"You seem to like the color black that you wouldn't mind being surrounded by it so I picked space." She grinned as she sees him with his eyes closed nodding at her explanation.

"So I picked the highest point above me!" She smiles as she points her index finger at the top of the tent, obviously pointing at something much farther than that.

He smiled at how well the name she had picked fit so well with him and how the name seemed to honor the figure in his nightmare.

"I love it!" He beamed at the name she had just picked. It helped put him at ease whenever he remembered the nightmare and it also made him happy that she was the one who named him. He sat up and with Tabitha and they both left the tent to tell his men.

"I have an announcement to make! Everyone assemble quickly!" Zenith's voice grabbed the attention of even the farthest of his men. He felt so refreshed, as if a great weight was lifted off of his chest, he spoke with enough energy to surprise even himself.

Tabitha laughed quietly looking at how Zene held his chest in surprise. "I'm guessing you like your name, right?"

He smiled at her words and looked at the group of men assembled before the two.

"This girl here, Tabitha, has given myself a name…Zenith!" There were mixed reactions from the men. Some were sweatdropping at this 'important' assembly, some were happy that their leader found something to go by, and a couple were angry that the girl standing next to their leader assuming the position of vice-leader. Those who were angered by the complete stranger started to yell in anger at her.

John who stood by the water truck near the back approached one of the angered men and placed one of his hands on the man's shoulder and subjected his arm to a vice-like grip forcing him to fall on his back trying to regain the feeling in his arm.

The remaining angered man did not notice the fallen man a few feet back, and continued to call her unworthy of being a part of the group. This made something snap inside of Zene.

The group parted to the left and right leaving the lone angry man staring at his leader walking straight at him. Both men were furious but for different reasons, and as Zene approached he grabbed the man by the collar and threw him further back. This action surprised everyone, even John and the old Shopkeeper.

"You call her unworthy? She did more than you ever did in the few days she was here than you ever did on the entire journey! She, no, Tabitha did the impossible! She saved our asses when we tried to raid this factory! Without her we would have died at the first shot of the tanks! Tabitha saved all of our lives and she saved my life TWICE!" The words came out of his mouth laden with power.

Tabitha blushed at the words he spoke and figured it was time to stop. The poor man was shaking on the ground since Zene forced the harsh truth into his mind. She approached Zene and grabbed his lowered hand.

"Zene. Look. You already protected me, lets go get some food so that you can relax and think things through." Tabitha gestured toward the fallen man and once Zene understood what he had done he left the group for some food, but not before asking some of the men to help the downed man get some rest.

Zene and Tabitha headed for the Shopkeeper's supply truck hoping to get some food for dinner since Zene had spent most of the day in a nightmare.

"We only have enough to last us tonight. We have to leave this place and find some places with food." The Shopkeeper waited for the words to sink into the two before heading to the back. He soon came back with two dented cans for the both of them.

"I'll ask for just one clip this time, seeing that your little friend there prevented a one-sided massacre back there." The Shopkeeper accepted the pistol clip and returned with a knife and forks for the two.

"The knife is meant for the dented cans…oh and please return it after we get some supplies, not much demand for that knife since I gave you the last of our rations." The Shopkeeper said with a sigh.

Zene assured the shopkeeper "I'll find a way into the facility and scavenge enough supplies for all of us. So don't worry."

The two of them headed back to their tent to find John snoring in his massive bed.

"Wanna eat outside or inside with the snoring giant?" Zene always laughed a bit whenever he saw his friend sleeping but he held back since he didn't want to trouble the giant, much less a sleeping giant.

"Lets head to where you were in the morning. I want to see why you all grouped there." She pointed in the direction where she heard the men when she woke.

"I see, the door was locked when we found it and none of use had any of those fancy military identification cards for the card reader." Zene went to grab a couple of folding chairs for the both of them and was surprised to see Tabitha sliding a card back and forth through the reader. That wasn't the only surprising thing, what surprised him was the fact that her card operated the door and with each swipe the door opened and closed.

"You still amaze me…" Zene said as Tabitha noticed him coming back. She swiped the card once more to shut the closing door and sat down on one of the chairs he had brought.

"Oh I was just checking if the idiots had broken the door mechanisms out of frustration," She said plainly as she motioned for Zene to hand over the knife.

He watched her cleanly slice the top of the dented can off before resuming his thoughts. _'Well we both have things that others would envy and I don't want to be too nosy.'_ He respected her privacy and went to work, his job at opening the can was childish compared to how Tabitha handled the knife.

The two of them quickly finished their dinner before returning to their tent to sleep. Zene eyed his gas mask beside his bed recognizing the new dent in the canister. _'Should I apologize of thank her for what she did to me? …Nevermind…the point is that this day changed my life and I have Tabitha to thank for this.'_ His thoughts quickly faded as he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

A/N Originally i was thinking of using a name that translated to "black god" but i decided against that for various reasons, one of them was for being too long. Btw the name is pronounced like the words Dean, Gene, Lean, Keen, etc...


	7. An Interesting Idea

Days Of Ruin7…Never Ending

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did I would have allowed IDS structures to be placed on the design maps.

* * *

"Boss-I mean Zenith!" A large man appeared to be attempting to wake the teenager by shaking him by the shoulders.

"Don't call me Zenith, John. I'll use that name whenever we go to battle, so off the field I would prefer to be called Zene." Said Zene as he pulled his arms through the sleeves of his black jacket.

"Zene lets go!" He said these words, as he knew that Zene always finishes changing by tying his gas mask to his arm.

"Wait. First tell me the situation. I need to know before heading out" John grumbles a bit at Zene's stubbornness.

"Fine, the men outside are complaining about the lack of food and I want you to calm them down." John said explaining the situation.

'_If this is about food then I'll need Tabitha to help with scavenging.'_ Thought Zene.

"John, tell the men I'll find them food and after you calm them down meet me at the door we found yesterday." Zene quickly gave the instructions and after John had left Zene turns to the sleeping figure of Tabitha.

"Tabitha, wake up, after you're done changing, meet me at the factory door." Zene knew she heard after she groaned and he soon left her to avoid another "incident" from yesterday.

At the door, Zene began thinking about the "Bonuses" the factory would provide. _'Bonuses, huh?'_ He started to come back to his senses after knowing that the amount of food in this facility wouldn't do. _'I need to find some cities, quickly'_

'_So those complaints were about food'_ Tabitha thought as John explained the predicament the men faced.

As the two approached Zene, he quickly got to the situation in-hand. "Tabitha, I'm sorry but we need to gather the food left in here and head straight for a city to get a decent supply of food, we can't spend much time in here."

"After we find the food let us just spend about 5 hours here please?" Tabitha said eagerly.

"Why do we need to spend that much time here? We can spend the time getting to another city." Zene remained rooted to his plans.

"Oh don't worry we'll all do something, not just me, the men will just be painting and I'll be making something." She said happily.

Now Zene was just confused now. _'Why painting? …She'll be making something? Food?'_ The thought of homemade cooking did sound appealing but it was just a waste of time. He thought a bit harder at the image of a cooking Tabitha but waved it off since it didn't match her war-like demeanor…mostly.

"Painting?" Zene only managed to let one word out. His head was tilted to a slight angle trying to grasp what she had just said.

"Yeah, I'll get the paint for the guys and I'll start afterwards." Tabitha's words still didn't explain anything.

Realizing that her words didn't get through to the two men she continued. "I mean we need a military color just like the Lazurian army and the Rubinelle army, the colors will help us survive since most raiders wont attack a colored unit."

The two men got the idea of what she said and nodded.

"So…what you're saying is that, bandits aren't stupid enough to attack a force bearing military colors like the red and blue forces of the Northern and Southern continents." Zene basically summed it up and was pleased that his summarization wasn't complicated for when he had to explain this to the men.

"So what do we need to do?" John asked, resuming the food dilemma.

Tabitha swiped her card, opening the door, and revealing the corridor ahead. "Just find the Maintenance staff door and once you get the food, I'll get the paint." She walked inside past the staff door, and disappeared after turning to a corner.

"John, lets get the food and hand them out, I don't want to hear the men's complaints if we take too long." Zene opened the door as he said this and the both of them exited the corridor with ration packs in their bags.

* * *

'_Time to get started.'_ Thought Tabitha as she entered the factory assembly area. She looked around to see cans of spray paint on a huge rack on the wall. These cans were labeled '**Military Grade**' and had colors that were recognized globally. Paints of this grade had the same effect as the sirens and lights of emergency vehicles, they informed anyone that anything with these paints were part of some sort of military and are dangerous.

'_Yellow? No those were the colors of the New Rubinelle army. Blue? No, Lazurians. Black? No, any of the knowledgeable forces would now know to attack black units. Red? …Never'_ She shivered at the memory of the red troops celebrating at the base of her home.

She walked past the various cans labeled, yellow, blue, red, and black, until she reached a few labeled '**Green**'. _'Yes! This could work…no…this will work!'_ She gathered up cans of green paint and hit a red button on the far side of the wall. She knew green would work since the last force to use green colors had been wiped from the history of war centuries ago. She knew that only because of her extensive knowledge of war history and that other colors wouldn't work since they did not have a suitable history that matched her strength.

* * *

The men outside were happily eating their new food when the wall of the nearby concrete building came sliding down, revealing a large hanger and a smiling girl with cans of green paint in her grasp. Even if the men tried to make out what was deeper inside they would only see an empty darkness beyond.

The men just stared, they were dumbfounded, solid concrete walls just don't come down like an upside-down garage door. The girl walked up to their leader and placed the cans by his feet and whispered some words to him before running back past where the wall had just been.

Their leader nodded as she left him and turned to face the men. "Guys! We will now be forming our own force! Independent from any of the Bandit clans!"

The men looked up at their leader with questioning looks, their faces asking 'Why form a new force when we're fine already?'

Two men off to the side knew what their leader was going with his speech. One already knew from the start, and the other pieced the information together with his experience.

The men's leader began to speak again, silencing the murmurs rippling through the men.

"Remember one of the basic rules of us raiders! Never attack active military vehicles!" The men understood what he had just said. They were familiar with war more then they were with their old lives before the meteors. They once tried to raid a city but found out the blue troops, the Lazurians, quickly forced them away from the city.

They made a solid rule that was born out of experience. "Do not attack those with the colors of death!" One of the men recited their first rule.

"Yes! Assuming that the other raiders had experienced similar situations as did we, we should be safer with these!" Zene took one of the cans and tossed it to one of the men, a few others gathered around him to look at the label '**Military Grade**' they grinned as they soon went up and grabbed their newfound form of protection.

As they went to work painting the green paint onto their machines, the wall that had once lowered was now slowly rising back to its original position, sealing the entrance into the abyss.

"We have five hours men!" Zene grabbed a can of paint and went to his war bike and began chipping away at the gray paint on it.

The men had to chip off their vehicles' old paint before applying the green paint. The older trucks were the easiest to paint, since the paint was already beginning to chip off when they first had it.

The sound of paint chips cracking, spray paint hissing, and the sound of scraping metal reverberated through the yard of the factory.

* * *

A/N I don't want to release alot of my chapters at once. (Since i want to thoroughly check each release for errors...i do my best...but please do give some feedback. I don't want to release a chapters with errors.)


	8. The War Tank

Days Of Ruin8…Never Ending

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did I would have attempted to make an anime out of it…probably.

* * *

Tabitha walked back into the abyss of the hanger, the hanger's concrete wall rising back to its original position. She walked over to where the hanger's door was controlled and pressed a slightly smaller button to the side of the other button. She looked towards the dark abyss and the factory lights flickered on. She grinned happily at the sight that was in front of her.

'_I missed having power! I have five hours, but its all worth it in the end!'_ She walked over to a small stage with a podium overlooking the factory floor ahead. She swiped her card on one of the readers and operated the built-in touchscreen of the control and frowned a bit.

'_Figures, they wouldn't have the blueprints for that for a factory in the middle of a wasteland…not a problem for Zene when he operates it. Looks like I have to do this manually.'_ She set to work organizing the supplies of the facility; automated machines were scrambling in and out of small doors bringing in barrels and sheet metal into the assembly area.

The generators came to life and power began to flow through the automated welding crew and overhead cranes. The cranes shifted their claws, dropping down to extract various turrets from storage containers. Metallic arms holding welding rods began reinforcing the panels of the moving turrets.

Five tanks rolled in from the back and stopped in the center of the floor, their sensors destroyed but their engines still functional.

'_This will do. No use for sensors if we have a crew to operate this in the end.'_ Tabitha thought as the various displays on the screen shifted at the gliding motions of her hands. She was controlling various mechanical arms to lift up panels for the welding crew to work on.

The cranes placed the finished turrets off to the side and began to rip off the damaged sections of the tanks parked in the center. The damaged components were lowered onto conveyer belts to be transported elsewhere in the facility.

'_Time to make the treads.'_ She was giving commands to the automated crew with swipes of her hand on the screen. The metal beings complied. They moved to dismantle the hulls of the tanks with their equipment efficiently.

'_What else am I missing?' _She thought. The machine was slowly forming, the treads were nearly complete, a few of the crew inserting the last of the gears on the treads.

Three hours had passed since the wall had risen. So far, the treads were complete and the hull was done. Two cranes were operating in unison to insert a large engine into the massive vehicle. The size of this machine would bring her enemies to their knees.

'_Time to insert the controls.'_ Tabitha exited what she was currently doing on the screen and opened up a map, she opened up a screen by touching a section of the factory and a small window appeared on the screen. '**Install manual controls?**' She opted on equipping the monster with manual controls, and then another window appeared. '**Choose crew size.**' She soon selected a crew size of two operators.

'_Hmm? Whats this?'_ She noticed an unknown option near the features that could be installed on the tank.

It was labeled '**Repair Function**' She selected the option but was denied. A mechanical voice was heard –Authorization Required-

'_Another prototype function? Yay!'_ She smiled at the thought of testing another of her now deceased father's prototypes. She swiped her card and the voice stated –Authorization Granted. Welcome Tabitha. Message Start-

'_Message?_' She thought as a screen appeared. It was a recording of her father, Caulder.

Caulder's voice had a hint of disappointment. "It seems like you selected my first failure, the repair function," he sighs, his face showing anger at remembering any failures of his.

Caulder coughs, clearing his throat "Ahem. As I was saying before, it is a failed creation, the particles it releases quickly shatter when exposed to the outside air. I could not perfect this function so it only has a one-time use. Not like you need it, you are my daughter, your skills should not require my assistance." He chuckled evilly as the recording shut down.

'_Father…you left me with a memento…your first creation' _She smiles slightly at how her father still acts, even in death.

The five hours were nearly up but the machine in the hanger was in the midst of testing itself. The turrets were testing their rotational limits and the barrels were lowering and dropping, testing the angles it was limited to. A few automated arms were still spraying green paint across the hull's rear.

'_Just a few more tests and we'll be ready to leave'_ Tabitha thought as she glanced at the four silver canisters attached to the sides of the hull.

'_Just a few more minutes to fuel up'_ Cranes moved forward hoisting up a fuel line which the more nimble arms directed the nozzle to the fuel tank. The nozzle was retrieved and the machines began to return to their original positions, some went back into the factory and the rest parked themselves against the factory walls.

"And done!" She said as she climbed onto the metal beast, positioning herself on the highest turret.

The men outside were ready to pack up and the trucks were stationed in the yard ready to depart. The ground began to rumble, a little harder than before but the difference was unnoticed by the men.

Zene recognized the mini-quake. "About time! Everyone get ready to leave this place!" He stood in front of the Factory wall expecting for Tabitha to come out with something good, since she spent five hours in there.

Everyone there was now prepared to witness the wall lower down, but that wasn't the only thing that came down when the wall came down. Wrenches dropped, cans clattered on the concrete, jaws fell…the only thing that lifted was the awestruck gazes of the men as they stared at what came out of the lighted factory assembly zone.

"The hell?" The men just stood there looking at the massive metal vehicle.

"What the…" John finally found out what it means to feel small when he saw the metal construct.

"My god…what is that thing!" Zene yelled at Tabitha with amazement.

Tabitha got up on the upper-most turret and stood with her hands on her hips. "A masterpiece!" She looked around the yard to find the mechanics prostrating themselves and she grinned joyfully at the feeling of superiority.

The metal beast drove past the stationary tucks and headed toward the factory gate. Tabitha called out to Zene. "Hey Zene! Aren't we going to leave? Our Five hours are up!" Her words knocked the men out of their trance and they began starting their engines and began climbing into their bikes and trucks.

Zene tossed his bike's keys to John as he climbed aboard the massive vehicle. "So what do you call this monster?"

"The War Tank" She replied.

"The?"

"Its special than the others." She said proudly.

"Others? You mean there're more!" Zene panicked at the sight of these war tanks in a battle with his men.

"Yeah, the other militaries got these too." She said plainly, while kicking her feet in the air as she sat on the turret.

"Damn…let's worry about other things for now. How do you run this thing? Its bigger than a house!"

"Don't worry! I made it so that two people could operate it. I'll run the thing along with the cannons and you'll use the machine gun." She said proudly. Zene knew her shots were better than his so he had to accept her decision.

Tabitha went down into the operation area of the tank and yelled back to Zene. "Tell us where we're headed! I'm fine with going south with this tank now!"

'_South? What happened there?'_ Pushing aside those thoughts, Zene quickly told everyone that they are now going south to acquire supplies.

"Zene" She said sighing. "You know you could've use the radio in here." She said while pointing at the radio inside.

"I'll use those when we fight, but thanks anyway." Zene hopped into the upper-most turret with his seat adjusted so that his upper half was able to reach the turret mounted machine gun outside.

He put his ability into effect and let Tabitha do the driving since he was a bit unnerved at the thought of driving something this big.

The war-colored convoy set off to leave the darkened factory, kicking up dust clouds as they moved effortlessly through the wastelands.

* * *

About fifty or sixty miles south of the green force's position a few voices could be heard among the shots and explosions of battle.

A female's voice shouted out "Gage! I know we won, but why did we have to leave Will and the others?"

The man now known as Gage calmly replies, his sniper rifle in his grasp "Will has a town to return to and we have a country to return to. We have to help our fellow Lazurians fight the southern raiders. Will should be fine, he was the one who took out Caulder."

The two were unaware of the approaching green forces from the north as they defended the city from the bandits.


	9. Equal Exchange

Days Of Ruin9…Never Ending

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did I would have added small buildings to spice up the terrain a bit more.

* * *

"The enemy's rockets are destroying our lines!" The soldier replied, his blue military gear had scorch marks.

"Send in the helicopters to attack!" The Orange-haired leader ordered.

"But, the enem-" The soldier tried to explain but was cut off.

"All helicopters! Charge and crush the rockets!" She yelled violently into the radio. Soon Helicopters flew past her and toward the besieging bandits at the north side of the city.

She knew her aerial forces were top notch so she sent them in without a problem, expecting her air forces to return quickly she faced the soldier. "There! Problem solved! After they come back we need them to help take out their tanks too. They have more things to deal with than rockets!"

The soldier stared back in despair as his commander said those words, he had to tell her. "They had Anti Air units with them!" He screamed. No wonder he was the only soldier that came back, those units had torn through his infantry and will destroy her copters if she didn't pull them back.

"Helicopters! Get back!" She screamed into the radio, as she knew she made the worst decision.

-We were met with anti air units, over- She exhaled a sigh of relief at the response, but her relief was cut short.

-We're the only unit that made it back- She heard this and her hopes dropped as she saw the lone copter return out of the numerous she had originally sent.

-Commander Tasha! There are additional raider reinforcements a few miles up north! - The commander, now known as Tasha, felt her troops' morale drop at the report. They knew that they originally had three helicopter units, and many infantry units, but now they were left with a single copter and severely crippled infantry. She saw the helicopter hover high above her, launching missiles at the nearby raider group.

-Commander! We can see the enemy reinforcements! It's…A WAR TANK! – The nervous voice screamed out the last words. Tasha's morale hit rock bottom when she heard those words.

She readied the radio "Get ready to retreat! Evacuate the civilians!" She was furious at how the raiders managed to acquire one of those and even angrier at how they had a manually operated one. The IDS had the only soldiers who were trained to manually operate those things. Tasha remembered past battles where she had to make those tanks with automated systems instead of manual controls, those things just moved in perfectly straight lines, unlike the slight turning motions the War Tank ahead made.

The blue haired man next to her held up the removed scope of his sniper rifle. "Look closely at those colors they bear. Its best if we wait to see their actions."

"And be slaughtered? I'm not telling my men to die here!" She angrily yelled.

"Lets prepare to retreat and evacuate but we'll leave if they join forces with the enemy." Gage's calmness got to Tasha and she agreed, the scope trained on the approaching tank to get a better look. She didn't notice the reinforcements moving cleanly through the wasteland like a hot knife through butter.

* * *

Back at the green convoy Zene was looking ahead with anticipation. _'Finally food and a chance at avenging my men!'_ He grabbed the radio and informed his men.

"Get ready for a fight! We have to pay our old friends a visit!" Zene's voice lifted the spirits of the men and the War Tank leading them also aided this morale shift.

-We're ready when you are! Hahaha!- John's laughing could be heard by Zene.

In the center of the formation was the War Tank with two biker units, one each on to the left and right of the charging tank.

-Boys! Don't do anything rash! Come back alive!- The shopkeeper's voice lessened the men's war cries a bit after he finished.

"We'll be using our same old strategy! Lets break nature's wall and crush them!" Zene's voice was now a bit muffled with his Gas mask on.

The sound of the tank's engine coupled with the roaring of the motorbikes rose up into the air as the group of 2 bike units and one war tank charged forward. Zene turned the radio's dial, shifting to the main channel for all to hear his declaration.

"This is Zenith of the Green Legion! Prepare to die!" Zene declared his group to the bandits, who soon shifted their attention to the new threat.

The stretch of wasteland between the bandits and the Legion seemed to calm the bandits down a bit. But the bandit's morale dropped as the saw the form of the war tank sharpen, various units lined up as they approached.

* * *

"Dew! We're pinned on both sides!" The bandit panicked.

The Bandit leader, Dew, gave orders to his men. "I want the tanks to continue their assault on the city! Get the artillery and rockets to fire when they slow down at the wastelands!" He boarded one of the nearby tanks headed to the city.

The bandit joined his artillery unit and gave orders to the ranged units to fire at his mark at the approaching enemy.

"FIRE!" The bandit roared the word before pulling the trigger. A pair of Artillery and rocket units fired their weapons, letting lose shells and explosives at the point where the enemy would slow down.

* * *

"Stick close guys!" Zene said into his radio. His commands now relayed to his men on a private channel.

The bikes formed a line on each side of the tank, the men braced them for an explosion that never came…directly on them.

Explosions erupted where they were a minute ago, where the plains met the wastelands. The cloud of smoke catching up to them, obscuring them from sight. What rained down on them wasn't shells or explosives, just pieces of dirt that bounced off the vehicles.

"Spread out and take down their units once we exit the smokescreen!" The bikes spread out forming a line parallel to the bandit's defense line.

"Lets return the favor! FIRE!" After giving the command Zene went inside of the war tank to meet with Tabitha, her hands quickly controlling the rotation of the turrets and angle of the barrels. He gave her a nod and the serious Tabitha grinned as she pressed down on the triggers of the cannons. The blast shook the inside of the compartment and Zene headed back to the top to man the machine gun.

The men on their bikes momentarily lost control when they heard the simultaneous blast of the War Tank's cannons. John cursed under his breath as he regained control of the bike, his gunner to the side still dazed.

Ahead of their position the raiders believed that they had dealt a fatal blow and readied themselves to pick off the survivors. They were definitely surprised to see that they all emerged unharmed, but they began to feel fear as the bikes began shooting their units down, knowing that their only defense was their first attack.

The raider that felt the fear of death even more as the War Tank burst through the smokescreen, he had noticed that it had no gunner at the top, but that was the last thing he would ever notice. Both of his artillery units were blasted to oblivion as the full body of the tank finally exited the smoke.

The remaining raiders tried to flee with their rocket units but were also engulfed in explosions as the bikers took care of their targets.

-Dew! Bikes! An- The radio fell silent after a large explosion was heard. "Damned idiots!" The raider leader commanded the group of tanks and anti air units to turn around and face in the direction of his fallen men. "I'll lead the tanks! I want the anti air units to my right and left!" The sound of treads echoed through the streets of the city.

* * *

'_So he is the one in charge'_ His calm expression still on his face. He lowered the scope of this rifle and entered a building.

* * *

"We did it!" The men were celebrating their victory against their previous enemies, cheers and shouts evident.

"Lets start scavenging! Who's with me!" One of the men shouted, his voice grabbing the attention of the bikers, who were aware of their growing hunger. They sped forward into the city down the main road.

The War Tank stayed behind and Tabitha exited the tank to eye her handiwork. _'Hmph even other war tanks would be hard pressed to fight me!'_ She smiled at the thought of regaining her military power.

"Tabitha…what should I do?" Zene was sitting off the edge of the upper turret surveying the damage, his mask now off to the side.

"What do you mean?" Tabitha lifted herself out of the turret hatch to stand up and look down at Zene.

"I'm asking what do I do no-" Zene's words stopped then the radio inside the turret came alive.

-BOSS! WE WERE AMBUS- The crackle of the radio immediately fell silent.


	10. Retribution

Days Of Ruin10…Never Ending

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did I would have added biological units.

* * *

"This is bad…" Zene pictured the images of his men falling by the hands if Dew again. The anger built inside of his chest, he then felt a sudden urge to raise his right hand in the air, but was brought back to his senses as Tabitha brought him to his senses.

"Zene! Lets go! Before its too late!" Tabitha reentered through the hatch and started the engines up.

Zene entered the turret to grab his seat and let him and the seat rise so he could man the machine gun. 'I hope this isn't a repeat of before' He was breathing heavily but soon calmed down when he adjusted his mask on his face. The tank past the nearby ruins and began to decelerate as they neared an intersection.

Inside of the war tank's operating compartment Tabitha started to drop the speed as the displays inside opened up data on the units in front of her. _'Hmm…why aren't these things displaying the biker data?'_ She thought this as the screens showed the data of the tanks and anti air units ahead. _'Wait…NO!'_ Another display had appeared, showing what was in front of the war tank.

Outside on the upper turret of the tank was Zene. The distant forms of tanks and anti air units grew closer. _'Damn…they gotta make it through this.'_ He eyed the vehicles ahead and saw that the guns of their weapons had steam slowly drifting up. _'no…No…NO! Why? NOOO!'_ Zene saw the scene in front of him and soon gripped his chest tightly and pushed aside his mask, he fell into the turret as he lost his senses.

Both Zene and Tabitha saw what was in front of them a block away. In the center was a blackened area, it was full of twisted metal, rubber, bullets, craters…and remains. The entire bike unit was blown to bits by the anti air units to the right and left with the tanks ahead of the bike unit's remains. The Raider's leader was laughing maniacally at the sight before him.

"Whahahahaha! They got what they deserved! DEATH! Whahahahaha!" he was laughing with one arm off to the side and his hand gripping his face. He continued to laugh, ignoring the sound coming from the tank in the distance.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Both the screams of despair echoed through the War Tank. Zene fell unconscious at what he had seen, his form sprawled upon the turret floor. Tabitha was still screaming, she had lost her new-found family, the anger built inside her, on the verge of exploding…until she slumped unconscious on the operating floor.

* * *

Miles above the War Tank was a floating machine. The satellite was enormous, it had a massive array of solar panels and a large barrel pointing down at the surface of the planet. It had a mechanical eye that was focused onto the surface. –**Owl Not Detected**- The mechanical eye focused and zoomed in onto the surface, at the center of the sights was an intersection littered with small craters and various objects. –**Loading Shells**- The barrel of the satellite adjusted its angle. –**Initiating Substitute Bombardment**- The barrel shot five shells in quick succession, one by one.

As the shells entered the atmosphere they began to glow white from the frictional heat. As the shells closed the distance, they began to burn up. The first shell in the line of shells, began to shatter, the shattered remains attached themselves onto the shells behind causing them to form a layer onto the outside of the remaining shells. The process repeated until the fifth shell was the only one that survived, its size much larger than the opening of the barrel it had exited from.

The descending shell homed in on the intersection with ease, trailing behind the shell was a bright streak of heat and light.

It punctured the dense clouds that covered the planet and slammed down on this target.

-**Bombardment Complete**- The mechanical eye of the satellite began to dim. –**Beginning Cloaking**- The figure of the metal object began to fade into the surroundings. –**Beginning Hibernation**- the red eye of the machine turned black before also fading into the background of space.

* * *

Back on the surface the sight of the incoming object drained all the happiness from the raider's faces. The white-hot object dug a massive crater into the intersection, heaving the ground up in the direction of the raiders and tearing their vehicles into shreds. The only surviving raider was left in a heavily damaged tank. He groaned and got himself free from the wreckage and began to walk away from the twisted metal.

A single shot resounded through the desolate city and a soft thud followed soon after.

'_My job here is done…'_ The blue haired man left the building he was in and headed back to his fellow soldiers. _'Hmm…green legion…'_ his boots made crunching sounds as he walked through the city.

* * *

Within the War Tank, Tabitha stirred, she gathered her thoughts and sat back in her seat.

'_Did I send an order for the Owl?'_ She questioned the slight pain in her head and thought it through.

'_Feels like how I normally do when I send an order for a bombardment'_ She bent over slightly to rest her head in her hands.

'_Not possible…not anymore…it was destroyed._' She wondered at the sensation.

The display in front of her didn't show the destruction in front, but it had another recording of her father, Caulder, standing next to a model of what looked to be a satellite.

The recording of her father began to play, Caulder's face showing extreme anger at something, not his daughter. His voice was harsh.

"It looks as if my flying fortress isn't operational anymore and my fortress is destroyed." Tabitha looked at the monitor with a surprised face.

'_How would a recording know?'_

"My fortress would have launched a bombardment for you if the Owl was in the middle of a refueling session." She realized that he was talking about her CO power!

Caulder's anger quickly turned into one of happiness…evil happiness.

"By the looks of it…you have issued an attack when even my fortress is down." He paused a bit before tapping the model to his side.

"Take a look at my final creation!" His form gesturing at the model to his side, the image zoomed in on the model.

"It is one of my very few perfect creations! It can hide itself among other satellites and it is fully self-sufficient! No need for refueling or rearming! This will now serve as your blade!" His voice hinting at his anger soon shifted back into a happy, yet evil tone. "Though its offensive power is reduced, it has the best precision! I call this! The Dark Cannon!" The image fades and is replaced by the sight of a functional Dark Cannon operating its systems.

After the Dark Cannon's test run was over there was one last image, the impact crater that the cannon left on the surface. This image soon faded, bringing up the screen that showed what was outside the War Tank, the crater she saw out in front matched the impact crater the Dark Cannon left.

'_I…did that?'_ She thought with amazement since she momentarily forgot the power of her father's weapons for a moment.

As she saw the decimated remains of the tanks and anti air units she smiled at the destruction. _'I wish some would've survived so I could show them true pain.'_ The damage was too severe that she quickly dropped any thoughts of survivors.

'_I wish some of those idiots had survived…'_ She thought wistfully. She headed up to check up on Zene if he was ok.

Tabitha stopped when she was the unconscious form of Zene at the floor of the turret. _'No! Did the blast hit him too?' _Tears began to form, but she soon snapped back into reality.

She shook him violently to get a reaction, knowing now that subtleness isn't what she needed. After a couple of seconds shaking him she heard an angry groan.

"Stop shaking me!" He sat upright, pain still in his chest. His mask was on his face but off to the side.

"What happened?" He asked this as he still held his chest.

"I shot them all to oblivion! ...They left no survivors…" Tabitha trailed off near the end.

Immediately the pain in his chest lifted at the mention of this enemies being obliterated, he noticed the worry in Tabitha's face as she looked at his chest. He still had anger and sadness raging inside his mind.

"So what I saw there was real…" His voice grew weak, he was shaking slightly trying to regain control of his body, his anger was being repressed by his own will.

_'Calm down…Calm down!'_ He sealed his anger away with what reasoning he had left.

_'The men aren't here to restrain me like before.'_ He looked at Tabitha who was now sitting beside him, she still looked worried.

_'I doubt she can restrain me if I ever lost it.'_ He was now forcing his anger to fade away; he hated the image of Tabitha getting hurt because of him.

"I'm ok, see? No need to worry." He showed her that he was perfectly fine…well, physically.

She looked back, unconvinced. "Just tell me when you feel anything wrong."

They both exited from the top hatch and looked at the damage Tabitha caused; metal shards were everywhere, the intersection replaced by a small crater, and more metal shards protruding from the front of the War Tank.

"So this is the full force of a war tank…" Zene's voice said in awe as he looked forward.

"…Umm…that wasn't the War Tank…" Tabitha said softly, wanting to give Zene the news calmly.

"Then what was it?" He wore a perplexed look as he turned to face Tabitha.

"…Umm…"

"Was it a secret weapon?"

"…No…well, kind of." She fidgeted for a moment.

"Then what?"

"My CO special attack…" She said nervously, not knowing how he would react to this.

"Is that so…well, let's return to the supply trucks." He just took in the information given to him without much fanfare.

"Aren't you going to ask why?" Tabitha was surprised at his calm reaction, she half-expected Zene to burst out in questions.

"I prepared myself for any surprises and I've conditioned myself mentally for those ever since you came out with this." He tapped the reinforced steel of the War Tank.

"Also, I respect your privacy and you can just tell me whenever you want or not." He finished calmly as he got back into the tank.

Moments later the two of them headed back to the supply trucks, their War Tank smoothly riding past the remains of the ranged units they had assaulted recently. Smoke rose from the remains of the city and the day began to end.

* * *

A/N I'm planning to take a short break from uploading when i send out ch11 i still need to proofread several future chapters and find battlefield ideas from the AW maps. I might as well release ch11 along when i release this.


	11. Old Man's Wishes

Days Of Ruin11…Never Ending

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did…I wouldn't be writing this.

* * *

The clouds above began to darken, signaling that nighttime was approaching.

Both Tabitha and Zene were heading away from the city and toward the lights coming from the trucks parked a few hundred feet away. There was only one truck that had its engines running, the rest stood silent with their lights cutting into the now approaching darkness.

As the tank approached the truck the operators inside saw one of the several displays light up, it pulled up information on the vehicles ahead, it was labeled 'Civilian units'

"Ok that's them ahead." Zene said, pointing at the center display that zoomed in on a single truck ahead. He soon climbed up onto the top of the moving tank.

"Hey Tabitha! I'll tell them the news, so just stop in front of them." He said as he looked down into the hatch. The turret's radio came to life.

-Yeah I heard you! You still need to fix your habit of yelling even though you have a radio next to you!- He just frowned a bit at the radio.

'_Yeah, I'm trying! There's a reason why they are called habits!'_ He wanted to say that but the tank was slowing to a stop, the figures in and on the truck were getting clearer.

There were only three people that were left behind to wait, two of the forms were sitting on the truck's hood and a taller form was standing next to the two. The War Tank soon stopped several feet from the front of the truck, the two vehicles' lights illuminated the small area between the two.

Zene got down from the tank, lowering himself from the rear ladders of the tank. The people in front of Zene called out to him.

"Hey leader!" Yelled two enthusiastic boys, both their faces had faint black grease streaks on their foreheads.

"Boy! Where are the rest of the guys? They still out raiding?" The shopkeeper called out to his leader.

"No…they're off _**sleeping**_." Zene tried his best to say it in a way that wouldn't hurt the boys, the shopkeeper caught on and ushered the boys away.

"C'mon boys, leader's here now so you all go on and sleep." The aged man pointed to the back of his truck, the boys were about to complain but they started yawning and drowsily left their leader and the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper's voice took on a serious note. "So what happened?" After he said this, his leader recollected the events that happened that day. The shopkeeper lowered his gaze and started crying, obviously saddened by the words of his leader.

After the man finished crying he said a few words for the lost men and lifted his gaze back up. "Those boys, they were impulsive…just like my grandsons…" His words drifted off, full of sadness.

"I knew death would come…but I thought it would be of old age, seeing as we somehow managed to survive our last meeting with bandits." The man stopped, after hearing his own words he accepted the deaths of his sons.

"I'll take care of the two children now." The man turned to head to where the children were sleeping, until his leader began to speak when he was halfway there. He knew that being depressed over his son's deaths wouldn't bring them back.

"I don't think its best for you three to stay with us any longer…" The leader said, taking out the knife he had borrowed and returning it to the shopkeeper, who nodded. He lifted his gaze to look up at the clouded skies. "Ignorance is bliss eh?" The words were whispered to the air.

"Hmm?" Zene was about to ask him what he had just said but decided against doing so.

"I'll take the boys somewhere safe. People will come to help us when they see an old man with two children." He went to the back of his truck and woke the boys up to tell them he was going to start driving, after he got the boys to return to their sleep he closed the back doors of his truck. He headed back to the front of his truck to see Zene and Tabitha in front of him.

"Old man, there's an underground bunker not far from here, it was made for some important, but now dead people, and it should be able to barely feed the three of you for a long time." The man doubted her words but he accepted it when he saw his leader give him a nod of assurance. She handed him a map and scribbled on several numbers.

"You'll need that when you get there, there are more instructions on the back so you should be able to get there in a few hours even without Zene's help." Informed Tabitha. The man got into his truck and started to drive, but not before stopping with his window rolled down.

"Boy…no, Zene…please look after this young lady. She is your responsibility. I'm charging you with the task of protecting this young lady. Please do not leave this world before I do." He finished giving his farewell words to Zene. Zene soon started to get back into the tank.

"And you…Tabitha? Yes, Tabitha…thank you for your help. I have a task to give you too…please set my boy on the right path whenever he faces trouble, John and I aren't there to comment on his actions, I entrust you with this…and I hope your futures will be as bright as the sun!" He finished saying his last words to Tabitha before heading off into the darkness. She was blushing, but with her back to the lights of the tank no one would've seen her emotions,

* * *

Tabitha went to the trucks to gather sleeping gear and ammunition for the tank and she finished up by turning off the lights of the remaining green trucks and headed into the operator section to meet up with Zene.

The two people quickly laid their sleeping bags across the floor of the area they were in and fell asleep. The two didn't have to zip themselves up in their bags since the tank would shelter them from the cold night wind. The two of them were parallel to each other, one to the right and one to the left of the main seat of the tank.

The area was now dark, all of the lights were off and the former Raider along with a former IDS CO slept peacefully through the night. The only sound around them was the sound of wind blowing around them, but that too died down…giving the two sleeping people the peace they deserved.

* * *

A/N Pretty short huh? I felt the natural pause here when I looked over this, so I decided to end this chapter here. (Hides Chapters labeled 12,13,14,15,16 and 17 from view) I usually churn out about 2000 words a day, but the proofreading, story connection, terrain checks, and battle scenes take a few days. It takes me longer to make emotional scenes but not as much for battle scenes...idk why. The real fun is just starting.


	12. Sweet Dreams

Days Of Ruin12…Never Ending

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did…I would limit the amount of times Rigs and APCs could resupply.

* * *

The darkness was lifting around the area around the besieged city. The night was receding and the morning light brightened up the gray clouds above. The voices of soldiers reporting could be heard on the outskirts of the city.

In the city outskirts were numerous tents, various medical personnel were darting in and out of the many tents. Some personnel carried in medical kits and saline packs and the exiting personnel were disposing blood-stained gauze strips, some of the strips were dark and crusted while a few were soaked with fresh blood. An orange-haired woman had her back to the city as she observed the medical team at work.

"Commander Tasha! All of the able-bodied men are back!" One of the Lazurian soldiers reported to their leader. Trailing behind the man were several soldiers bearing the crest of the Lazurian army.

Tasha turned to face the men that have returned. "How was the evacuation, any losses?" In the center of her sights was the reporting soldier.

"No losses ma'am! We thoroughly combed through the city and encountered no people, civilians and raiders alike!" The soldier quickly finished his report and returned to the men behind him. After the soldier joined with the men they all headed to some empty tents to get their rest.

Tasha turned back to continue her supervision of the medics_. 'Where's Gage? I'm tired of just standing here and watching my men die. I should've gone with the recon team.' _On the outside Tasha looked like her usual self, her usual frown on her face. Inside, she was bored and annoyed that Gage wasn't there to supervise.

A blue haired man walked up to his commander, his rifle was in his hand. His stoic expression hid any traces of emotion.

"Gage reporting!"

"Where were you? I was stuck with this boring job while you had fun killing bandits in the city!" Tasha's complaint was full of irritation.

"As a soldier, it is my duty to be on the front lines, and it is your duty to stay alive and lead the soldiers."

"But!" Her resolve on joining the recon team was weakening. She knew Gage was right, she was in charge and Gage would never take command without another CO to convince him.

"Fine, just tell me what happened, no need for formalities. Lets talk elsewhere." Both Tasha and Gage headed into an empty tent to talk about their status.

* * *

Inside the tent lies a table at the center, on the table lays some pencils and a map of the area.

"Though the city may be safe, the surrounding area may still harbor some bandits. I suggest we gather up the damaged units and form new ones." Gage was pointing to various forests on the map to get his point across.

"If we're just scouting the outskirts can I join? I'm tired of just supervising, they wont need me for a good number of hours, right?" She was itching to kill some raiders, her voice was eager.

Gage, knowing that Tasha would just bombard him with questions if he denied her, conceded. "Alright, but I'll get three men to guard you."

"Yes! I'll order the recon unit to guard the injured!" Tasha quickly left the tent to give the men their orders and to get herself ready.

'_Bandits…hmm…'_ Gage remembered the bandit reinforcements.

'_They should still be nearby…'_ He loaded one bullet into the chamber of the sniper rifle.

'_The life of a soldier is never pleasant…'_ He walked out of the tent with his loaded rifle.

* * *

The group of five scouts began their scouting run. Gage, Tasha, and three soldiers began scouting out the outskirts of the city.

* * *

Zene had never been a heavy sleeper ever since the meteors fell; he awoke an hour before sunrise every day. On. The. Dot.

He felt something from keeping him from sitting up, he felt the thing that was keeping him, and it was soft, unlike the hard steel he had slept on. He felt something feathery on his face; he rubbed his eyes and took a clear look at what held him…held him?

He saw what was holding…err…hugging him. It was Tabitha, she was in his spare shirt and had her arms wrapped around his chest. He started to go red as his eyes took in the sight in front of him. He had a word he was struggling to find, _'Beautiful…'_ That was the word he was looking for. Her hair was long and flowing, not tied back in her usual style. He saw her unblemished skin and her sleeping face, heard her soft breaths, felt her soft arms around his chest, …and felt her rhythmic heartbeats.

He started to slowly lift her arm off his chest. _'Carefully…slowly…don't wake her…'_

Tabitha's breathing became slightly faster, her face started to show signs of fear. She let out faint words. "…no…don't leave me…please…"

Zene stopped immediately, his embarrassment now replaced with worry. He brought her arm back on his chest and brought one arm over her. He hesitated, but he placed his hand on her head, feeling the silky strands of hair with his fingers. He unknowingly began stroking her hair. When he noticed this, he was about to stop until noticing that she had moved her head closer to his, her breathing was calmer and her face peaceful.

'_Preparing can wait…I'll protect her…even in her dreams…'_ He laid his back down again and continued to stroke her hair.

The guardian and maiden both lay inside of their metal home. The guardian was doing his duty, protecting the maiden, even in her dreams. And the maiden was sleeping peacefully while hugging the guardian. Both were enjoying each other's company, showing their happiness with various actions, ranging from stroking one's hair to hugging one's body.

* * *

Tabitha began to stir about an hour later, and as she began to stir she felt the sensation on top of her head and slowly opened her eyes.

It took her a while for her mind to register what was happening.

"Ze…Zene?" She noticed his hand stroking her head.

"Yeah?"

"I…I'm awake now…" Tabitha tried to put on a serious expression but she was failing.

"Oh, sorry" Zene removed his hand.

Tabitha felt disappointed when he removed his hand, she mentally kicked herself for ruining the mood.

"Lets go outside for some morning air, sound good?" Zene started heading up to exit from the turret hatch.

"Sure, just let me change first."

Tabitha exited the tank, she saw Zene stretching out on the rear of the tank.

"Good spot" She said this while climbing down to stretch with him.

They were still stretching. "Hey Tabitha?"

"Yes?"

"We should refuel this thing and take what we need from the trucks."

"That's going to take a while, we don't have a factory nearby."

"How long is it gonna take?"

"A little more than an hour, give or take a few minutes."

"I'll help you after I'm done taking care of things."

When they finished stretching Tabitha left for the fuel truck and Zene left for the empty rig.

Tabitha was busying herself with filling gas cans to bring to the tank.

Zene was going to the rig to fetch his raider flag. After retrieving the flag he went to the tank and saw Tabitha fueling up the tank, she saw the flag and looked at him.

"Whats with the flag? I'm sure you don't need it anymore."

Zene tied the flag to the ladder before speaking. "It was my first gift from my men after the meteors struck. I don't want to ever forget them so I'll be taking this with me."

"I'm fine with that. If you know how to fill a car then you should do this for me." She pointed to the gas cans and then to the fuel truck. She climbed down the ladder and walked up to Zene.

"I'll be removing the shards of metal still embedded in the front, and I'll be checking the barrels for damage." She headed to the front of the tank.

Zene began one of the numerous trips to fuel the tank; he didn't have any larger fuel cans so he was forced to make do with the smaller ones.

Tabitha began the task of removing the embedded shards of metal from the front plates of the tank. She also had to clean out the barrels of the cannons to clear the debris of the blast she had created.

The two of them worked on their tasks, they took an occasional breather next to the water truck and then resumed their work.

There they worked, the tank had its back to the city and supply trucks to its front, it was midday and the sounds of the two floated into the air, unheard by anyone else.

* * *

"We have completed scouting the eastern outskirts, Commander Tasha." Gage reported to his leader.

"So we have the northern and western outskirts left." Tasha replied.

"Let us head to the northern outskirts now." Gage points out the route the group was going to take; they would head back into the city and head north after reaching the center.

The scouting group now headed into the city center, their boots crunching into the ground before them.

* * *

A/N Ok...i'm back for a bit before i stop until i get my mental gears in shape. I'll upload CH13-18 and probably 19 or 20 to get to a good pause area before taking a breather.


	13. Failure

Days Of Ruin13…Never Ending

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did…I would be sad…sad that this story would have never been born if I owned AW.

* * *

Tabitha and Zene were nearly done with their work, Tabitha was nearly done with her inspection and Zene was carrying the last cans of fuel needed to fill the tank.

"Hey Zene?" Tabitha's voice didn't have the usual vigor it had.

"Yeah?" Zene was pouring gas into the tank.

"Aren't you sad about what happened?" She asked.

Zene paused for a moment before continuing. "Yeah, I'm sad, but I don't want to endanger our lives by mourning."

"Endanger?"

"I'll have time to mourn later. I know that my guys wouldn't want me to be sad for them, that wouldn't meet their standards of their leader." He ended on a happy note.

"I understand. I'll be done with checking the barrels in a few minutes!" Sounds of metal hitting metal rang through the tank; Tabitha was checking the insides of the barrels with a metal rod, poking around to check for hazards.

"Ok! I'm done!" Zene shouted from behind the tank.

"Get me some water then!" Zene grumbled and headed to the water truck to fill up his bottle for Tabitha.

He came back and handed the water to Tabitha after she hopped down from the tank. "Thanks" She smiled at him slightly before drinking. The two blushed slightly before Zene headed to the back of the truck.

"I'll…umm, head back to close the gas…uh, opening." With the silence broken, Zene headed to the back of the War Tank.

After Zene left, Tabitha climbed back up to check the barrels with the metal rod.

* * *

A group of soldiers were making their way from the city.

"Commander Tasha, there are vehicles ahead of our position." Gage pointed out what he saw from his scope.

"Raiders?" Tasha asked.

Gage checked again with his scope, he saw a raider flag with a reflective patch. "Yes, they have the mark of the raiders."

The group tensed, Gage had his rifle ready and the guards walked in front to shield their commander, guns at the ready.

As they walked closer they began to see the objects in front of them. There was a male working behind the War Tank, his back to the approaching group.

Tasha made her way to the front of the group as they approached.

* * *

Zene was busying himself with the fuel tank when he heard someone behind him.

"Stop! Raise you hands up and turn around you raider bastards!" The voice was a woman's

He raised his hands and turned around. He saw five soldiers in front of him, three of the men had similar military gear, another man had blue hair and a sniper rifle, and a woman with orange hair glared at him.

Zene saw Tabitha coming around from the War Tank. She wanted to see what the problem was back there.

"Hey Zene? Whats-" Tabitha stopped and glared at the people in front of Zene. The orange haired woman looked at Tabitha with a mix of shock and anger.

"You're that bitch! Die!" The orange haired woman took out her pistol and pointed it at Tabitha. She knew the IDS CO that was one of the problems she had faced.

The woman was about to pull the trigger.

"NO!"

Zene yelled out and knocked the gun away from her grasp.

"Commander Tasha!" The guards yelled.

The three grunts tackled Zene and pinned him down onto the ground. Tasha's hand was still numb from Zene's strike.

She yelled out "Gage! Kill her!"

The sniper nodded and shot.

The single shot echoed throughout the area.

* * *

…

Time stopped for Zene.

He heard the shot.

He saw the flash.

He saw Tabitha try to turn away.

She was hit.

She screamed in pain.

Her body fell to the ground with a thud.

He saw the blood pool around her.

Then...nothing..._silence..._

Within his mind, something snapped.

The sadness from back when he saw the remains of his men flooded his body.

As he saw Tabitha's white clothes soaked in blood, he felt his sadness change. It was not the sadness that had engulfed his body…it was now rage. Power coursed through his veins, he felt his senses sharpen, his strength grow and his mind focus. He inhaled. He was raging, his mind was warped and words rushed through his mind. _'Protect, guard, shield, save'_

"TABITHA!" He roared. With his enhanced body he knocked the men away. They charged at him to subdue him. Zene threw his elbow into the stomach of one of the soldiers. The form crumpled and fell. He took a step and brought up his knee to the side of one of the other soldiers. The form skidded across the ground and lay motionless. He ran up to the remaining soldier and headbutted him. The helmet of the form dented and the man collapsed on the spot.

"Gage-" Tasha was cut off. Zene ran up and tackled her. She was thrown against the Tank and slumped to the ground.

"Die-" Gage lifted up his rifle and shot. Zene continued to run and was grazed by his shot. The shot had only grazed Zene's face. Gage went to grab his pistol after noticing his miss.

Zene roared as he ran. The shot had grazed his cheek and burned a scar. He ignored the pain, he knew what Tabitha had gone through and this amount of pain was miniscule in comparison to her pain. He pressed forward and brought his arm back and slammed his strongest punch into the man's face. Gage had reached for his gun but was stopped as he saw the fist arc toward him. Gage's body twisted from the force of the punch and immediately went limp as the man was thrown onto his back, his weapons scattered, unmoving.

After he expended his energy he rushed over to Tabitha. He was shaking now. Zene turned her and held her. He was crying, he had failed to protect his friend, blood was soaking both his jacket and her white clothes. He held her tightly, crying his heart out.

Hope abandoned him, left him to bask in despair. He had no knowledge of how to perform field surgery on wounded people.

...

...

Tabitha winced in pain.

...

"Tabitha! Please!" Zene was desperate; he was clinging to the strands of hope that were being lowered from the heavens.

It was faint and weakening, but he could hear Tabitha's words. "…My…wound…Please…"

He looked at her arms; he was a deep red hole that had been made by the shot. Her detached sleeves along with her clothes and skirt was absorbing the blood. He took off his jacket and ripped off his sleeve and tied it in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Tears flowed down his face, his hands were shaking, and his arms were being soaked in her blood.

"Tabitha! Don't die! NOOOOOOO!" He began wailing when he was her head slump; she wasn't dead but had passed out from blood loss.

Tasha regained consciousness after hearing the wail of sadness. She checked the bruise on her head and brought herself up to look at the raider. He was cradling Tabitha in his arms, crying his heart out, tears turning red as they touched her clothes. She felt a pang of sadness. The scene before her looked exactly like the time when her brother's dead body was returned to her.

Tasha looked at the couple with sadness._ 'They make me look like I'm the villain…'_ She noticed the faint pants of Tabitha, they were barely noticeable but they showed that she was alive.

Tasha walked up to the man, noticing his gas mask on his arm had Tabitha's blood wiped on it. "You can still sav-"

Zene snapped back. "GET AWAY FROM HER!" His rage flared for a moment.

"You can still save her!"

"I can't…just like before-" His rage was replaced by sadness.

"Just drive the tank! I'll tell you where to go!" Tasha pushed Zene and pointed to the tank; she picked up Tabitha and brought her up onto the tank, making sure not to hurt her enemy.

"Just head to the opposite side of the city! When you see tents start to slow down!" Tasha yelled to Zene.

Zene quickly nodded and jumped inside the War Tank from the turret hatch. He went down to seat himself in the driver/aimer/gunner/loader's seat. He grabbed the only familiar controls in front of him, the steering wheel, and floored the gas pedal. The massive War Tank's engines roared, he turned the tank around and plowed through the wasteland and into the city roads.

Tasha looked back at the now shrinking forms of the unconscious soldiers. _'They'll come back later…'_ Their bodies now faded as the Tank entered the city.

The tank sped through the streets of the city, knocking cars and trucks to the side as if they were mere flies. The tank was heading straight into a building that had fallen onto the street. Zene saw what lay ahead on the displays and something sparked inside him; he brought his fist down on the buttons that fired the cannons.

"MOVE!" He screamed, the cannons fired. The cannons boomed, and the five shots came one after the other.

Tasha saw the building ahead and braced herself, and then she saw something that surprised her. There were the loud booms of the cannons and the instant destruction of the obstacle before them, but this wasn't what had surprised her. The flashes of the cannon weren't the red explosions of a cannon firing; they were blue, like the blue colors of the plasma that attached itself to meteor fragments. Tasha noticed the subtle distortions as the cannons fired, those were sonicbooms, the distortions radiated outward, just like when a rock is thrown into a pond.

_'Railguns?'_ Tasha thought in fear, she shivered at what might have happened back at Caulder's fortress if War Tanks like these were there.

The Tank soon crosses the border separating the city and the outskirts. Off in the distance there were tents, the cross on the top signaled Zene that those were field hospitals. He suppressed his desire to accelerate into the camp and reduced his speed. Tasha was at the back, keeping Tabitha from losing more blood, when she felt the decrease in speed. She climbed onto the top of the tank and yelled down to Zene.

"Don't scare them! Take it slowly and they won't shoot!" He complied and slowly approached the camp. Many of the soldiers had noticed the approaching War Tank and started to panic. After they realized that their commander was waving to them from the top they calmed down. As the War Tank stopped, Tasha yelled back to Zene.

"We're here! Get her and come with me!"

Zene got out to see Tabitha's arm was wrapped by Tasha's scarf. _'Hmm…what caused her to change? I'll find out later.'_ Zene carried Tabitha bridal style and jumped off of the Tank's end.

The soldiers around Tasha tensed when they saw him jump down, they raised their weapons at him. When Zene walked closer the soldiers lowered their weapons, they saw the bloodied girl in his arms and the rage deep in his eyes. Tasha motioned the men away.

"Get the medics! I want them here NOW!" She yelled.

Zene lowered his gaze at Tabitha. "Thank you, miss Tasha…"

"Just Tasha."

The two hurried into one of the field tents. There were medics prepped, ready to go. Zene placed Tabitha on the makeshift operating table and watched as the medics surround her.

"Hey raider, lets leave them to do their work." Tasha ushered him out of the tent to let the medics work.

"…Tabitha…is going to be fine, so don't worry…" She assured Zene.

Zene clutched his face; he was doing a bad job at hiding his tear. "Why? Why? Why did you have to shoot her?"

"She-" Zene cut her off.

"She was the only one left! And you shot her!" His tears were streaming down his face and onto the earth. "Tabitha saved my men, and she saved me! She accepted me even though I'm a raider! She wasn't disgusted by me!" He fell and brought his fist down, cracking the hard concrete under them. He roared in agony, channeling all his rage and sorrow into the earth. "I was supposed to protect her, keep her safe, even in her dreams!" His body depleted of energy, he passed out. In his mind Zene had reached the lowest pit of sadness, he had failed to protect his friends three times and he wasn't even able to protect a single one.

Tasha stood there and watch, her tears falling. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…" She whispered to the broken raider.

* * *

A/N Next chapter will be different...very...different. Keep an open mind!


	14. Rejuvination And Change

Days Of Ruin14…Never Ending

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did…I would implement a computer version of AW.

* * *

_Many eons in the past on the world known as Wars World, was an old decrepit man. He was holding a broom and was sweeping some concrete roads. He mumbled while he was sweeping up dust, he was wheezing every few breaths._

"_Hehh…immortality was too far out…hehh…out of my grasp." He was barely brushing the ground, whenever he did it kicked up puffs of dust._

"_Hehh…I should have…hehh…aimed…hehh…lower…" The particles of dust were giving him a hard time._

"…_Hehh…so degrading…" _

"_Hehh…if I can't have immortality…hehh…I'll ask for something modest…hehh?" He looks up to see the object in front of him. It was a black round object with arms and legs coming out of it._

"_Jugger?" He asked the rotund object._

"_Yes Von Bolt?" The object replied with a mechanical voice._

"_Hehh…why are you here…?"_

_-**Accessing Data**- "To retrieve you and prepare you." Jugger answered in its monotone voice._

"_Prepare?"_

_-**Searching for respons**e- "For your journey." At those words the old man, Von Bolt, looked at Jugger confusingly, his wrinkles contorting to show his confusion._

_-**Confused expression detected**- "Jugger, Koal, and Kindle have gathered the remains of the main Oozium and created a gift for Von Bolt."_

"_Gift?"_

_-**Detecting unending questions…linking to Kindle**- a beep followed and a haughty female voice rang out from the inside of Jugger._

"_Lord Von Bolt, please let Jugger guide you, we will explain when you arrive. Oh and Jugger? Please be careful with him, he is over a century old."_

_-**Resuming mission**- "Von Bolt, please follow me" Jugger guided the frail old man into an unmarked car and started the engine._

"_Hehh…hot…" Von Bolt was sweating quite a bit._

_-**Turning on heat extractor**- a small metal door opened on Jugger's back and cool air was flowing from it. Von Bolt attempted to raise an eyebrow._

'_That surprised me, thought he was going to turn on the air conditioner.'_

_Jugger suddenly responded. "Another machine is not necessary when I am perfectly capable of performing the said task."_

_Von Bolt raised his eyebrow again. 'He sure is getting better, but not in the right areas' he chuckled to himself._

"_Oh my! I never heard your real laugh!" Kindle's voice rang out again from Jugger._

"_Time spent laughing is time spent with the gods~" a male voice mused._

"_Hehh…Koal? …Never expected Jugger…hehh…to say that…"_

_-**Approaching destination**- "Von Bolt, we are nearing our destination." Jugger said as the car sped through the desert roads._

_Just when Von Bolt was about to question Jugger's guidance system, the ground shook and an enormous black silo rose from the desert, it was several times larger than the continental missiles the Black Hole used to threaten the Wars World inhabitants. Jugger drove the car onto the silo's metal base and stopped._

"_Von Bolt, we have arrived." Jugger opened the side door as a butler would and guided the old man into the Missile Control Building._

* * *

_-**Detecting life forms**- Von Bolt looked around the control room but saw no people._

"_Hehh?"_

_The doors into the room opened and two people with a large pod entered. One was a woman with flame-red hair and the other was a man with certain taste for the arts. The pod they brought with them was outfitted with several storage tanks and small pipes along with what seemed to be a smaller pod to the side. The man walked up to Von Bolt._

"_We have retrieved the remains of the Main Oozium and gathered up the energy remaining in them, we have assembled this massive rocket for you to-" Koal was cut off by Von Bolt._

"_Hehh…to destroy this world?"_

_Kindle looks at Von Bolt and shakes her head. "…To give you a chance…"_

"_Hehh…a chance to rule the world again?"_

_-**Completing sentence**- "…To give you a second chance at life." Jugger completed the group's sentence._

"_Life? …Hehh…" Von Bolt was confused but his aged face didn't show it, he only attempted to raise an eyebrow. Kindle went to the controls and began inputting commands, outside was a Megatank that began to be loaded into the massive rocket. Jugger hooked itself up to the interface of the building. –**Begin Transfer**- And Koal walked up to the leader of the Bolt Guard._

"_Lord Von Bolt, we are preparing for your journey to an inhabited planet discovered by the Bolt Scientists. Kindle is preparing a small number of automated forces and your own personal Megatank if you ever encounter trouble on the planet. Jugger is busy downloading his memories into the systems, he will be tasked with keeping you alive during your slumber."_

"_Hehh…sleep?" He asked Koal._

"_Yes. You will be sleeping while Kindle's modified Oozium will be feeding you the energy we collected, in turn keeping you alive. There are some slight aftereffects but they won't be troubling you…" Koal manages to stifle the small urge to laugh._

_Koal glances back at Kindle, who laughs haughtily. "It seems like it is time for you to depart onto your second life. By the time you reach there we will be long gone…it will take many a millennia until you reach your destination." Koal smiled sadly, Kindle walks up with a tear in her eye._

"_The Bolt Guard will always be with you, we have some presents for you for when you reach the world." Both Kindle and Koal took out similar disks and inserted it into the main interface and began the data transfer._

"_Please enter and wait for the sleeping gas to take effect." Koal said as he guided the Ex-Commander of the Black Hole Army into the pod._

"_Hehh…I will miss you…hehh…greatly…" He said as the pod door closed. The pod was quickly transferred to the rocket, and after the pod entered the metal door slammed shut, sealing the massive rocket._

_The entire base shook as the rocket roared to life. A mechanical countdown echoed through the now empty base._

_10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…-**Bolt Arc Launching**-_

_The rocket was slow at first, fighting the gravitational pull of Wars World. It began to pick up speed ever so slowly, there were small rings that looked like halos encircling the exhaust of the rocket, and they signaled success of the liftoff. After clearing the atmosphere of the planet, the rocket began to purge the excess parts. The cone was ejected and the fuel section jettisoned, leaving the used parts to fall back down and disintegrate._

* * *

_The voyage to the planet took, what seemed like, an endless amount of time. The metal arc that contained Von Bolt sped past the planets. Von Bolt lay in his pod, there was oozium filling the pod, the oozium channeled the energy of Wars World into the old man's body. The process continued and the oozium was keeping him alive. Years turned into decades, decades turned into centuries, and centuries turned into millennia. As the years passed the oozium shrank, at first it was unnoticeable, but after the millennia passed the amount of oozium left was drastically less than it was before._

* * *

The Bolt Arc was approaching the planet. It had dust clouds that obscured any view of the surface, it was different…extremely different than what the Bolt Scientists saw when they first found this planet.

The jets on the metal block fired, adjusting the position of the block and slowing it down enough not to burn up upon entry. The Bolt Guard wanted their commander to make it through the descent. The jets kept the block aligned as it entered the atmosphere. Parachutes deployed and the jets flared, slowing the metal block and bringing it down in a clearing surrounded by forests.

The sounds of battle echoed throughout the land around the metal block. The skies flashed, explosions rang out, cannons boomed, screams of the wounded resounded. This was a battle entirely led by men, not the half automated armies that the major powers had. This was a battle between raider clans, they were in the middle of a territorial dispute, one side versus the other, the insignia of the raider could be seen all across the battlefield, on tanks, on men, on flags, and even on buildings.

The massive metal door of the Bolt Arc began to open, soon after a ramp extended from the door leading down onto the clearing. Out of the Arc came fully automated forces, tanks and artillery. They took defensive positions around the Arc, artillery near the Arc and tanks to absorb any outside interferences.

* * *

The pod that held Von Bolt began to come to life; the remaining oozium was drained and transferred to the small pod. Inside the small pod the oozium began to take a form, it began to look like it was boiling, then a white steam began to hiss from the boiling oozium. The oozium evaporated and steam blocked any view into the small pod.

-**Beginning Formation**- … -**Failed**- … -**Beginning Formation With Reduced Energy Consumption**- … -**Complete**-

-**Initiating Data Transfer**- … -**Complete**-

-**Transferring Koal's Gift**- … -**Complete**-

-**Transferring Kindle's Gift**- … -**Complete**-

-**Starting Up Vitals**- … -**Pending**- … -**Complete**-

A faint sound came from within the hidden inside of the smaller pod…it was a heartbeat.

-**Beginning Von Bolt's Revival**- … -**Complete**-

The large pod beeped and its door lifted. Von Bolt's reaction to the revival was as if someone held their breath for too long, the gasp brought much needed oxygen to his lungs. He willed himself to move, but found himself unable to move anything below his head.

'_They did everything perfectly! But my old age wasn't taken into full account...'_ He thought sadly, adding several millennia to a century-old man would do things in unexpected ways.

'_Or this could be the aftereffects of Kindle's life support oozium'_ His hopes were answered when he began to move his body. He struggled and lifted himself from the pod, but he lost his grip and began to fall onto the steel floor.

'_All this and I kill myself because I'm too hasty.'_ He knew that even a small fall would kill a century-old man. He braced himself for his death, wondering if there was an afterlife.

SMACK!

His head hit the floor; the fall was enough to kill the old man…if he was still biologically old.

"Urgh…huh?" He complained with a mix of pain and confusion. One he was confused that he didn't die. Two he felt pain but not enough to kill him. Three he heard another man's voice.

"Whose there! …Huh?" He called out to nobody and he noticed that he wasn't wheezing and that the voice was his. He looked down and saw his…body? It was cleared of any signs of age. He flexed his muscles…they weren't aching. He bent his back…he didn't feel the pain of old age. He saw his reflection on a steel plate, it was someone he knew, but he couldn't place it. He smiled as soon as he remembered the person's face…it has Von Bolt back when he was young, in his late teens.

"Kindle, you really hated old age. You outdid yourself." Von Bolt joked to himself. He looked around to find something to wear and found a Black Hole soldier suit, he decided to wear it minus the helmet, and he didn't need his old helmet/jar anymore since he could breathe perfectly fine.

-**Formation Complete**- The mechanical voice ended with the hiss of steam escaping, within moments the entire chamber was filled with gas. It took a while for the smoke to dissipate.

'…_What?'_ Von Bolt stared at what lay inside the small capsule, it was a girl, old enough to be her great-grand-daughter but in his current state it would look like she was his little sister. Von Bolt did something that he had thought he had forgotten…he blushed. He also did another surprising thing, he draped a black cloak over her body…he was being chivalrous…enough to bring shame to Javier.

He took a seat and admired her cute sleeping face. _'Hmm…I never had a sister…'_

The sounds of the raider skirmish and the engines of the automated forces didn't reach the ears of Von Bolt and the child. He stared and began to think how life would have been like if he had made a family.

'_It wouldn't hurt to wait for her to awake…'_

* * *

A/N The basic foundations are in place(for the goal) i'll see if i'll go any further past ch19. Ah and i was working on increasing the compatibility between Zene and Tabitha for certain actions._  
_


	15. Squishy Enigma

Days Of Ruin15…Never Ending

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did…I would add units that could fight on the seafloor.

* * *

Back at the Lazurian encampment, two people slept on two beds next to each other. One was Zene who had cried himself to sleep because of his inability. The other was Tabitha who was patched up though her bloodied clothes still remained. The two were sleeping in a tent in the middle of the encampment.

"Tasha!" Gage called out to his superior. He had just finished the scouting run and was slightly piqued.

"Yes Gage?"

"You left us there and we had to scout with the fear of our commander gone!" He was rarely angry, but this showed how serious he was.

"I had some regrets, so I brought the two back…well he brought us back." She was slightly intimidated.

"You what!"

She began to tear up at the memory. "They looked like me when my brother's body returned!" She choked out those words and began speaking again.

"your brother…" Gage understood what she had gone through; after all, she spoke to him about this before telling anyone. He gave Tasha a nod and went to supervise the camp. Tasha headed to where the raider and Tabitha slept.

* * *

Zene opened his eyes slowly; at first he panicked at the unknown scenery. He remembered the things that took place earlier in the day.

"Tabitha! Where-" He soon saw Tabitha sleeping comfortably in the bed and gave a sigh of relief. He saw her having a nightmare again and got up to sit next to her on the bed. He was determined to keep her safe so he held her hand and petted her hair with his free hand.

"Its ok Tabitha, you're not alone." He said those words and she smiled, still sleeping. Zene kept petting until he heard someone; he looked ahead and paused his little moment with Tabitha.

"Who's there!" Zene was relieved that it was Tasha and not another soldier that saw the two's moment. She walked in; she was blushing slightly at what she saw.

"Raider, I want to speak to you outside." Zene nodded and followed Tasha out of the tent, but not before looking back at Tabitha.

* * *

"You can call me Zenith"

"So you were the one on the main channel."

"I only use that name for battle, just call me Zene."

"Ok, _Zene_, care to explain how you have a War Tank…and a manual one at that?" She saw that Zene was deciding whether or not to tell her.

"I won't kill you, not after your little _moment_…that would make me even more of a villain." She sighed and gave Zene a small smile; he blushed at the memory that was just made a few moments ago.

"Ok…" Zene gave his end of the story from the point where he met Tabitha to the point where she came out of the factory with the War Tank; he made sure to keep the incident and the dream out of his story. She nodded at his story, there were some questions left unanswered but overall, most of her questions were answered.

"So where are your men?" She soon regretted asking the question. Zene winced a bit and kept his mouth shut.

"I take it that they're dead?" He nodded, recovering from the memory.

"They were the best of men…they might've failed in life but they excelled in war…" He said sadly.

"Zene, I'll give you three choices, one, live with the survivors of this city, two, join us, or three, live with the people in the other cities we've secured to the east." She held up three fingers to emphasize three.

"Those are actually two choices. You're telling me to either stop fighting or join you. I prefer non-violence so I'll be heading to the eastern cities. I can see that Tabitha and me nearly destroyed this city; so living here is out of the question. I'll pick three." Zene poked Tasha's third finger and picked option three.

Tasha took out a map and pointed out the cluster of cities to the east. "We've liberated the small capital from the bandits and stationed most of our Lazurian troops there. Tell them that Tasha sent you and they'll happily accept you and Tabitha. I'm sure they'll be surprised at your War Tank." She saw the happiness on Zene's face and smiled.

"Thank you Tasha, I'll bring Tabitha to the Tank and I'll head there immediately." Tasha spoke up again before Zene went back into the tent.

"I want you to bring some supplies to the men at the capital! I'll tell my men to load up the supplies onto the tank!" She headed into a tent and seconds later men began coming out with ration crates. The men were happily securing the supplies onto the War Tank that they had previously feared.

* * *

"Hey Tabitha!" He tried to get her attention.

"Mmm?" She mumbled and got up, she stood up and winced at the pain in her arm. Zene grabbed her to keep her from falling. She blushed at the contact.

"Zene? Where? How?" She looked at her bloodied clothes and treated wounds.

"I got them to help you and I destroyed buildings to get you here." He said bluntly. He continued.

"We'll be heading to a small capital to live and escape the apocalypse. It'll take us a day if we leave now, so lets get in the tank. Oh and I'll be driving." He said the last part while looking at Tabitha's wounded arm.

"Ok but if we meet any trouble you'll need me."

"No need, I can shoot the cannons."

"That's the problem, you can only shoot, and you can't aim at anything not directly in front of you." She said with worry.

"No worries, we'll be heading straight using the forest route that Tasha told me." He produced a map with lines going through the nearby forests.

"Tasha? The Lazurian CO? How did you get her help?" She said with a mixture of anger and confusion.

"Uhh…I don't know how, but she had a sudden personality shift after you got shot by the sniper."

'_Gage…'_ A pain accompanied the thought when she moved her damaged arm.

"Lets go Zene." The two headed out of the tent and toward the War Tank, the supplies were neatly stacked and strapped onto the back of the War Tank.

The men who noticed the IDS CO raised their rifles at Tabitha. Zene brought out his arm in front of Tabitha and nudged her behind him. Tasha glared at the men and they grunted and lowered their weapons. The two went into the tank; Zene helped Tabitha up onto and into the Tank. Zene sat in Tabitha's seat and sat in Zene's seat.

Tabitha looked around and saw Tasha staring at her. "Hey IDS CO! Don't die!"

Tabitha yelled back. "Don't die either! And Thanks for the help!"

The War Tank shuddered, the engines roared to life and exhaust began to cough out of the back. Tasha watched as the Tank accelerated toward the capital. Massive tracks were left behind and the deep rumble that shook the tents faded. The War Tank was gone now, and its inhabitants were looking forward to their destination.

Zene followed the directions and drove into the forest, uprooting trees, snapping branches and scattering leaves.

* * *

In the Bolt Arc...

-**Beginning awakening**- … -**Error**- … -**Unable**- … -**Electrical Energy Required**-

Von Bolt was in a panic; he did not want to start off his new life with death before him.

'_Been a while since I used this. It brings back happy memories.'_ He remembered back when he used his power to shock people.

He held out his hand to the girl's head. Sparks were forming.

'_Weak…I'll manage…'_ He exerted more of his energy. The sparks bridged the gap between his palm and her forehead. The electricity did its job and the mechanical voice rang out.

-**Complete**-

Von Bolt looked at the now awakening girl. Her eyes fluttered open, she had short brown hair and dark eyes. She began to stand and found some difficulty. Von Bolt helped her stand and secured the cloak around her neck. She was like a doll, in a sense, she had white skin and her height only reached Von Bolt's elbow. She tried to walk and wobbled a bit, trying to get used to her body.

"Who are you? I don't remember you coming with me." He asked. _'C-Cute…'_ He thought as he saw her try to walk, he saw her knees buckling and used his arms to steady her.

"Take one step at a time girl…" The girl looked up at him with scared eyes and then she fell down and started crying.

'_Huh…why is she crying? Is it me? Or was it the fall?'_ He was thinking hard at the scene in front of him. Then he heard her say a few words in-between sobs.

"Sniff…where's Old man Bolt? …Sniff…" Von Bolt got a little irritated by her words.

"I'm Von Bolt!"

"But…"

"Kindle's oozium made me younger." He explained.

"…Me?" She asked wondering.

"You? You're Kindle's oozium?" She nodded. She thought for a bit, her head tilted a bit.

'_Wierd…well I won't complain about someone/something's habits'_ He thought at the sight before him.

"I'm the gift that Kindle and Koal told you about." She explained.

"Gift?"

She nodded. "Kindle said that she would give me a beautiful form. Koal said that he would add elegance to my speech. Oh, and Jugger gave me knowledge…bits and pieces though…you'll see Jugg later."

"Later?" He asked and thought to himself. _'Old…habits die hard.'_ He sighed inwardly at his own repetitions.

"Let's head outside first, ok?" She raised her hand for Von Bolt to steady her and she led the way.

The two walked out of the Bolt Arc and walked down the ramp. Von Bolt looked in awe at the surroundings he was impressed by the Bolt Scientist's discovery. The land looked similar to Wars World it also had a similar atmosphere and vegetation. He felt the ground beneath his feet; it was hard like the ground he had left many a millennia ago. He saw his small ground force stationed around the Bolt Arc. In a few moments the tanks began to head into the woods and the artillery raised their barrels at an angle. Von Bolt saw the flashes of the tank and artillery fire and saw explosions follow soon after.

* * *

There was a group of raiders that were on recon vehicles that were sent to check the strange object that had fallen from the skies.

"Man! You saw dat thing there?" One raider exclaimed. He was pointing at the large metal block protruding from the forest.

"Lets check it!" The other raider said. The raider recon sped toward the forest. They saw black streamlined vehicles that were stationing themselves at the tree line.

"Whats dat-" The raider was cut off by an explosion to his side, his recon team was blasted to bits. He saw the black things retreat back into the forest. _'Gotta get back and tell th-damn-'_ the man raised his head and saw black dots growing as they approached their target. The raider wasn't able to finish his thought. The sound of explosions as the artillery shells hit the raider recon echoed. After the dust had cleared, the only thing that was left was black scorch marks left by the explosions.

* * *

'_Disgusting…even in this world there's war…'_ He thought bitterly. He looked down at the human/oozium.

'_Time to bring the world under my rule…for young ones like her.' _He saw the girl look up at him with a pleading face.

"Yes?" He inquired.

"Hungry…"

"What?"

"I'm hungry…" She stated.

'_Huh? What does this girl/oozium eat?'_ He was perplexed at what powered this girl.

"Help me to that tree." Von Bolt complied and guided the oozium girl to the nearest tree. She put her hand onto the tree trunk.

"What are you-AH!" The tree she touched disintegrated, leaving a hole in the shape of the tree's roots. The girl turned to him.

"That's better! Thank you Sir Von Bolt!" She was perky and energetic; this energetic child was beaming at Von Bolt. He recovered from the shock of seeing a tree disappear instantly.

"No problem, and please no formalities, call me Bolt."

"Yes, Lord Bolt!"

"Its just Bolt."

"Yes, master Bolt!"

"Just call me Bolt!" he yelled, he didn't want to yell but he was irritated at how a simple order could be so hard to follow.

"Yes…S-B-B-Bolt!" She had trouble dropping the formalities.

"There you go. That wasn't so hard, was it?" Bolt ruffled her hair and then turned back to the Arc. The girl tugged at his soldier suit.

"Do you want to eat?"

"Now that you mention it, yes, yes I do wish to eat." He headed toward the ramp of the Arc.

"Just wait a moment Bolt." She said kindly, stopping Bolt in his tracks. She placed her hand on his and talked to him.

"I'll feed you!" her hand glowed a bit and Bolt instantly felt refreshed, as if he had just eaten.

"How?" He asked. He saw her run back to one of the trees and 'Ate' one of them. He threw out a good portion of common sense when he saw that. He started to have a headache trying to come up with a logical explanation so he just stopped before he thought himself to death.

"Nevermind…" He continued up the ramp and the oozium girl caught up to him. _'How…uh…can she eat me? Hmm…' _His thoughts were cut off.

"I can feed you and I can only consume vegetation…and my convenient responses are a gift from Jugger." She added the last part when she saw Bolt laughing.

"I underestimated what my guard could do." His laughter shifted to a chuckle. "Let's purge this world of war and turn it into a world I am proud to call home! Girl! Where's my Megatank?"

"It's coming." She said. The black gloss paint of the Megatank shined as it stopped in front of the two.

-**Greetings Lord Von Bolt**-

"Jugger?"

-**I will lead your automated forces during your journey**-

"I see, follow me child." He motioned for the girl to follow him. The two climbed on top of the three-barreled turret of the Megatank.

"Jugger. Go onto the surface."

-**Understood**- The Megatank stopped after driving down the ramp. The top view port of the tank swiveled and faced Bolt, awaiting for its next order.

"Send this message to anyone that approaches: Do you wish to fight?"

-**Understood**-

"If they answer 'yes' then destroy them. If they reply 'no' then guide them to us."

-**Understood**-

"Let me rest, I always feel refreshed after sleeping right after I eat." He might have been full, but he still had a slight headache trying to figure out how science made things possible. Bolt was more of a war person than a science person.

-**Understood**- The view port turned back into position, with its visor to the front.

The two went to sleep again. Bolt layed back and went to sleep with his arms behind his head while the oozium girl curled up against Bolt in her cloak.

* * *

A/N Yep after ch 18 or 19 i'm going to do a complete rennovation of ch1-19 with my peoples. So i'll probably end it at 19...probably...and woo! 2.5k+words!

Hmm...squishy...i gotta remind myself to make Bolt poke her...squishy squishy oozium...


	16. Advisor's Strength

Days Of Ruin16…Never Ending

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did…I would add space units.

* * *

"Hey Tabitha! We'll reach the capital in a few hours. You got enough sleep?" Zene called up to Tabitha.

"Yeah! This breeze is great! Keep going at this speed!" Tabitha yelled back.

The two had rested for a while several hours after leaving the Lazurian camp. They were now on their last leg of their journey to the small capital. Zene looked back at the map to follow the directions. There was a note next to the point the Tank was approaching. Tasha ha d written the note. 'You'll have a great view of the city when you reach here! On the back is what the capital looks like.'

Zene eased down the speed of the Tank, they were approaching the point. He stopped the Tank; he still had his eyes glued to the map. He turned the map around to take a look at what the capital would look like, the picture was taken before the meteors fell, the cities stood proudly, trees were seen in the distance and the skies were clear and blue. He stopped and looks up into the upper turret when Tabitha said something.

"Damn…" Zene wondered what could've made her say that, he lowered his map and begins to get up before he stops and stares at the displays.

"Damn…" He repeated Tabitha's word when he saw the same exact photo of the capital. It wasn't said in awe or happiness…it was said with anger. There were ruins where the once-proud buildings towered, the trees were burnt and lifeless, the skies were filling with the smoke coming from the ruins.

They both saw the scene in front of them. The capital they had hoped to be their home lay in ruins. There were various raiders fighting amongst the capital streets. Explosions rang out, cannons boomed, guns shot, and raiders were shouting, some in anger and some in pain.

Tabitha called down to Zene. "You think her men are still-"

"No." Zene cut her off. He was shown the blue smoking hulls of what used to be Tanks.

"I was about to settle down with you! And then all this happened!"

"…Zene…What do we do now?" Tabitha asked sadly.

"I don't see the point in heading there now…huh? Hey Tabitha! Look closely at what's coming!"

"O-Ok!" She was shocked at the abruptness.

Zene squinted to get a better look at the approaching object and Tabitha leaned forward to look at the approaching thing. It was black and streamlined, metal shielded the treads and there was a round turret attached to the front half of the vehicle. Zene didn't know how to turn the turrets, so he couldn't fire, Tabitha, on the other hand, aimed the gun at the potential threat, waiting for the first move. The two were shocked to hear a robotic voice come from the object.

-**Do you wish to fight?** – The object stayed in place, waiting for a response. The two in the tank were expecting a fight and they didn't expect this. Zene asked Tabitha how to speak to the object, she just told him to grab the radio and turn the dial until you hear a click. He did what she said and held the radio to his mouth.

"No." The speakers of the War Tank spoke with the voice of Zene.

-**Processing**- … -**Complete**- … -**Please follow this tank**-

'_It was a tank?'_ The two thought in unison.

The Tank turned its back to the two and waited for the War Tank to follow. Zene shifted the massive tank and began to follow the smaller, streamlined tank. As they followed the black tank the two noticed many of the tanks hiding in the forest.

'_So that was in store for us if we said 'Yes' …'_ the two thought again. Many tanks from the forest were now escorting them. They saw the shape of a black metal building surrounded by, what seems to be, artillery vehicles. The small tank in front of them stopped.

-**Approach the Megatank**-

The two saw the massive tank in front of them; it had a main turret with three barrels, two side turrets, and two people sleeping on top of the main turret. Both Tabitha and Zene stared at the nearly-level Megatank, it rivaled the War Tank in size and they guessed that its firepower was at least equal to, if not better than, their War Tank.

"I guess we go talk to them?" Zene suggested to Tabitha. They had parked their War Tank right beside the glossy-black tank.

-**Beginning awakening**- the robotic voice rang out from the black tank. It started up its engines and moved forward and backward slightly, waking up the two people on top of the tank. Zene and Tabitha were on top of their own tank when they saw the scene in front of them; they began laughing at the sight of the man rolling across the turret.

"Urgh…ok ok! Jugger! I'm awake! Stop moving!" The man yelled at the tank while trying to hold the girl next to him. Jugger, the Megatank, complied and stopped. The girl next to the man woke up and stretched.

"So why did you lead us here?" Zene said to the man, he gripped Tabitha's hand. The man looked at the pair, they were close, he could tell since they were holding hands.

"Hmm…a biological clone…not like the energy clones of Black Hole…" The man saw the confused face of Zene and the shocked face of Tabitha.

"How did you…?" She said in shock.

"I'm over a century old, and if you count my years in deep sleep then I would be over many millennia old. Please, I was voicing my thoughts, do not fret over my comment." He helped the small girl next to him up.

"I am Von Bolt, call me Bolt. This girl, uh, is my creation." He struggled a bit with the girl. _'Technically, I did gather the energy used to make her.'_ He continued, tapping his boot on the metal turret. "This Megatank is Jugger." The hatch cover swiveled and turned to the two, the yellow visor showed the reflections of Zene and Tabitha.

-**Nice to meet you**-

Zene smiled and gave their end of the greeting. "I'm Zenith, call me Zene. And this is Tabitha."

"Nice to meet you two, care to explain where am I?" Bolt asked.

"You aren't from here?"

"No, I came from a planet a few lightyears away."

"Why did you come here?" Zene would've normally been really shocked, but most of his nerves were shot by the apocalypse and his promise not to let things take him by surprise.

"I was given a choice to have a second chance at life. When I saw this planet it was beautiful and peaceful."

"I see, you came at a bad time. The world was struck by meteors and plunged into an apocalypse. There are a few organized military forces, but the majority of the forces are the bandit clans of this world. We are in an area being disputed by two small raider clans. They have destroyed the nearby capital and are battling on the plains nearby." Zene explained to Bolt.

"I am disgusted by the wars on my planet and with the wars here. I once strived for immortality in order to outlive war, but my plans were stopped. My…friends gave me an alternate option, to live peacefully on another planet devoid of war. I was saddened at the knowledge that war even exists on other planets. But I see some hope with the raider clans and this world."

Zene and Tabitha were perplexed at his last words. Tabitha answered for Zene. "Raiders?"

"Yes Tabitha. I see an entirely plausible option. I believe if we could get all the raider groups to assemble under a leader, then we could conquer and restore the world." Bolt revealed his plan. Both Tabitha and Zene were shocked at how daring his plan was. The girl by his side looked innocently at the two, wondering why they were like that, she tugged the suit of Bolt.

"Hey Bolt? Why are miss Tabitha and sir Zene so shocked?"

"Well, I told them of my plan for a warless world." He answered kindly, ruffling her hair. She smiled up at Bolt, who blushed slightly.

"Erm…Continuing what I had been saying before…I have seen too much war…But I wish for you two to carry out my plan in my stead." His words shocked the two again. Zene tried to make a point.

"B-B-but you just met us! And how would we do all of that!" He was still shocked.

"You answered correctly when my tank met you, and you answered correctly even though you knew you could destroy it. You didn't use force when an option of peace was offered. I also never said about not helping you. I just don't want to be the one to lead the forces. I'll help you with the plan, give you tips, and aid you when you have some trouble." Tabitha was the next one to speak, in an attempt to avoid another war that might kill Zene.

"I-I-If you aren't a good soldier then you won't be capable of protecting your COs!" Bolt chuckled at the clone's words.

"Very well!" He jumped down from the Megatank and began walking to the forest. His boot hit a slightly heavier-than-usual rock.

'_A meteorite?'_ He had a small idea; he exerted some energy into the meteor fragment and saw a blue spark. _'Plasma? It seems as I have found the perfect ammunition.'_ He waved his hand to the two on the other tank.

"I want you to follow me! You don't need the tank just follow me!"

Zene climbed down and waited for Tabitha to come down, he went back to help her down since her wound was still healing. The two followed right behind Bolt. They headed back into the forest. The oozium girl happily trailed behind the three, her mind on the 'food' everywhere. The three people and oozium girl walked for a few minutes, Zene and Tabitha were wondering where they were going.

"So where are we heading to?" Zene asked.

"You'll see-there they are!" The group reached the end of the forest. In front of the group was a large plain with the ruined capital off to the side. In the middle of the plains was a skirmish between raider clans. There were tanks pitted against tanks, infantry units versus infantry units, and recons trying to outflank each other. There were plenty of scorch marks where units once used to be. The sounds of battle reached the ears of the group.

"Tabitha…I'll show you the power of experience. Look!" He pulled out the meteorite that he had picked up a few minutes ago and meditated for a few seconds. After he meditated, his eyes snapped open and he yelled.

"EX MACHINA!"

Bolt's meteorite was crushed and the particles were blown into the sky. The clouds above the skirmish darkened, thunder cracked, blue bolts of electricity arced across the clouds and the clouds flashed several times. A massive sonicboom echoed throughout the land and a massive column of plasma thundered down onto the plains. The plasma pillar fades away shortly after making landfall, the plains were now blackened, small arcs of electricity covered the ground and flames erupted from any nearby units. There were no raiders left where the plasma struck, the only survivors were those that weren't inside the plasma's range.

Bolt heard the gasps of Tabitha and Zene. Bolt himself was also surprised by the damage done.

"I had expected survivors, but it seems like my power was enhanced by the plasma. I also think that the people and weapons on this planet aren't as tough as the armies of Wars World." Zene was the first to recover from the shock of devastation.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Bolt eyed him with a little irritation.

"So you can kill people as I did moments ago?"

"No! I want to have my own ability so that I can protect…Tabitha…" Zene's words made Tabitha blush and Bolt smiled at how noble his thoughts were.

"In time I will teach you, I don't know if Tabitha can learn any CO abilities…" He glanced back at Tabitha but was a little confused at her grin.

"For your information, I DO have a CO power, it just isn't based off of pure energy but pure science!" She said proudly.

"Really now? Most clones in my world disintegrate after using their powers too much. I suppose you are any different?"

"Yes! I give a massive boost to any nearby vehicles' attack and defense, and when I need to, I can call down an orbital strike!"

"So from what I gather you only have a strong base ability and your only energy based power is to send a command. Fair enough, you people of this world have different abilities than my people." Tabitha's anger changed to that of confusion.

"How so?" Bolt thought a moment before finding the reason.

"People on our world have minor base abilities but powerful energy based miracles, or powers. People are born with the ability to channel internal energy and make it take form, either to destroy, like my power, or heal and repair units, or even a combination of sorts. It all depends on the person's age, battle experience, and personal history. The powers grow over time and as you can see, my power is due to my age and experience." Zene took in Bolt's explanation.

"So if I train hard enough, I'll be able to use abilities?" Zene questioned

"Possibly. From what my experience tells me, the people of my planet, Wars World, can control internal energy. From what I gather, the people here of your planet, control external energy. It seems like the opposite of the COs of our planet, but with minor shifts." Bolt looked at the oozium girl wobbling drowsily next to him.

"It seems that I have proven myself useful as a soldier. Let us return, I think this girl needs some sleep." Bolt lifted the girl onto his shoulders and she slept on his head.

The group headed back to the black block, leaving behind the destruction left behind by Von Bolt.

* * *

A/N there you go! They now have a goal to strive toward, and not some small goal, global domination! (Evil laugh*(then again it could sound evil...but it could also be a happy laugh...depends on your point of view.)) There are limitations and i won't be making Bolt rain plasmatic hell on the populous. . Need a name for the girl since she'll keep a temporary one until ch19/20


	17. Just A Vibration

Days Of Ruin17…Never Ending

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did…I would add the ability to modify CO powers.

* * *

After the group had come back from Tabitha's test of power, it was already dark. They pretty much had a quiet trip back, other than the child's mumbling about food. The group decided that it was best to rest. Zene and Tabitha decided to sleep inside of the Arc with Bolt and the girl. Bolt and the girl slept in their pods and Zene and Tabitha brought their sleeping gear into the Arc storage area. Jugger and the automated forces patrolled the area in order to ensure the four had a peaceful sleep.

* * *

It was morning, Zene was the first to awake and Bolt followed soon after and the two girls were still sleeping in their pod/sleeping bag. Zene was up on the War Tank looking up at the still-clouded sky when Bolt climbed up to talk to him.

"I'm guessing that this is the strongest land unit on this planet?"

"Probably, though you'd want to talk to Tabitha about that. From what I know she was a CO from something…IDS."

"IDS?" Bolt asked, he sighed mentally at his habits.

"I don't know, probably some small military force, I never heard of them."

The two looked up at the dust clouds that covered up the planet. Zene stared sadly at the sky while Bolt stared in disgust.

"Zene. I'll ask you again…do you want a warless world?"

"Yes. I want to live in a peaceful world and I want certain people to live in that world too."

"Well then, let us make a promise? You take control of the raiders and unite the world. I'll do my best as an advisor and soldier." He made the promise and held out his hand. Zene smiled and grasped Bolt's hand and made his promise.

"Lets wake the girls up, we need to rescue survivors from the ruins." Bolt smiled at his first order.

* * *

Tabitha woke up when she felt something poking her head; it was the girl that was with bolt. _'Did she have a name?'_ She got up and looked at her, she was too energetic for someone in the middle of an apocalypse. The girl's short stature reminded Tabitha of her sister Penny, though not as energetic. Tabitha was the first to speak.

"I saw you with Bolt yesterday, what's your name?" She asked kindly, she showed kindness only to certain people and children were included. The girl tilted her head and began thinking.

"I'm a modified version of my kind, so I guess you can call me 238B"

"You only have a batch number?" Tabitha was a little shocked; the initial shock was lessened since Bolt had said before that she was a creation of his.

"No. The number was there already, I just added the 'B' since I'm different than my brothers and sisters!" She said happily.

"So, where are your siblings?" 238B thought again, tilting her head.

"They're back on Bolt's planet!" She's said happily.

"So they're dead?" She said sadly.

"Nope! We're immortal and won't die unless we get blown to bits!" Her happiness really didn't match what she said.

Tabitha's jaw dropped. _'They got immortal soldiers?' _238B talked again.

"As long as my siblings don't get blown up, they can eat as much as they want! Come, I want to feed you too!" 238B pulled on Tabitha's hand and headed to the hanger door.

* * *

Zene and Bolt were walking up the ramp when they saw Tabitha being pulled forward by a small girl.

"H-hey! Slow down!"

"Let's eat!"

The guys looked confused at the sight, it was a weird, but happy scene. The oozium girl was pulling Tabitha and the height difference didn't make walking any easier. 238B noticed the two guys standing on the ramp.

"Hey! Lets eat! I wanna feed you!" Bolt looked confused for a moment before remembering how she 'ate' and 'fed' people." Bolt turned around and headed down.

"Zene and Tabitha! She'll show you something surprising, so head down." Bolt said, back to the three.

The group gathered in front of one of the forest trees.

"We have some rations on our Tank, you don't need to eat trees." Zene said jokingly.

Bolt chuckled. "Save them for later. Girl!" He called out to the oozium girl and she smiled hungrily at the tree.

"Breakfast!" She placed her hand on the tree and it disintegrated, leaving a similar shaped hole the last time she 'ate'.

"Ah!" Zene and Tabitha were shocked at the sudden disappearance of the tree. The girl walked up to three more trees and 'ate' them and then headed back to the group.

"I'll feed you three!" She grabbed the hands of Zene, Tabitha and Bolt. They were engulfed in a faint light and were 'resupplied' in a sense.

"I'll explain what just happened." Bolt said as he held up his hand to prevent a barrage of questions.

"I was surprised the first time she did that to me. So just listen, no questions for now. She was a modified version of a weapon, Oozium 238, instead of consuming and destroying like the original, this girl is modified to consume and resupply. Any questions regarding the girl?"

"Not anymore." Zene said.

"She has a name you know, well a number." Tabitha pulled 238B over and stroked her hair.

"I'm 238B!" She said as Tabitha groomed her.

"How objectifying…it will do for now." Bolt raised an eyebrow then lowered it and continued.

"Before we set off I will need to teach Zene how to use his own ability. But may I ask first, Zene, what are your abilities in battle? I'll have to compensate if you don't have any."

"That question is easy to answer, I give my units a small boost in defense and attack and moving in harsh terrain doesn't affect my units." Bolt raised an eyebrow at the movement bonus. _'Sounds familiar…I'll check Jugger's database later...when I find the time.'_

"Ok then, we're off to a great start. I'll tell you the basics of using your power, it may sound pretty simple but it depends heavily on the mentality of the user. For example, strong emotions birth strong abilities, but the stronger the ability, the older you have to be. There are some exceptions such as using experience as a substitute for age and vice versa. You are granted two abilities, the first is usually formed during your childhood and this is usually weak due to the lack of information on how to form it, like my first ability. Short Circuit." Bolt held out his hand and sparks flew out of his palm. He continued on.

"You saw my second ability before. Ex Machina. I had waited until I had aged enough and saw enough battles until I developed it. Once you have the knowledge on how to make an ability, all that is left is to age or gain experience, either in war or in life. Usually if you think of life experiences you end up with supportive abilities, such as healing units or refueling units. And if you think about war experiences when you make your ability, you end up with abilities that can alter damage taken/given or devastating abilities like my Ex Machina." Bolt was teaching the inner workings to Zene because he wants him to be a strong leader, strong enough to end wars.

"I'll now move onto the hands on section on how to form your first ability. Most of the time the first ability is unleashed without the user knowing and if this is the case then it is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good, because it doesn't require that much effort now since the difficulty lies with the initial creation. Bad, because you don't know what you created, so it's a mystery. It won't ruin your chances at creating an ability if we check if you already created an ability." Bolt called out to Jugger.

"Jugger! I want you here so I can do a diagnostic on this guy's CO power!"

-**Understood**- The Megatank drove up and loomed over the group. Tabitha and 238B were grooming each other, uninterested at the guy's conversation. Bolt looked around and picked up a small meteorite shard, no smaller than a pebble, meditated for a while and turned to Zene.

"I want you to follow my instructions exactly. First, get on the tank." Zene went up and climbed up onto the triple-barreled turret.

"Second, catch this and hold it." Bolt threw up the meteorite shard to Zene. Zene caught it and held it in his fist.

"Third, meditate and clear your mind of any thoughts." Zene complied; he untied his gas mask and put it on. When he felt the relaxation roll over his body he closed his eyes. _'Ahh…been a while since I put it on.'_

"Fourth, try to feel your internal energy, it should feel like an extra internal organ…that's the best I can put it in words." Zene frowned and tried to feel the energy inside him, it felt like strings." The feeling of touching without using your body was strange to him. _'I think this is what he meant.'_ Zene gave a nod, his eyes still shut.

"Fifth, take hold of the energy and do whatever you want with it. I know its vague, my energy was in the form of a button." Zene felt one string and plucked it, he felt it vibrate and his meditation was soon broken.

-**CO power detected**- Bolt grinned.

"Seems like you had an ability already! It's a shame that we couldn't make one. Jugger! Commence Diagnostic Test!"

-**Initiating CO Diagnostic Test**- Jugger's voice announced the start of the procedure. Bolt guided the two girls up the ramp so they could see the test.

-**Checking Fuel Levels**- … -**No Changes**-

-**Checking Defensive Plates**- … -**Minimal Increase**-

-**Checking Predicted Movement**- … -**Terrain Costs Lowered To That Of Roads**- … -**Movement Range Unchanged**-

-**Checking Damage Levels**- … -**No Changes**-

-**Checking Hull Integrity**- … -**No Changes**-

-**Loading Single Shell For Test Purposes**-

"Tabitha, 238B I'm placing my bet that he can score a 120% Damage Rating on the test." Bolt said grinning.

"I think he'll remain unchanged." 238B said, her attention directed at Jugger.

"Zene will get the highest! I wouldn't be with him if he was weak!" Tabitha said proudly. On the inside she hoped that it would be an increase, any increase in damage. _'Actually I would've stayed with him even if he was weak…he did save me…'_ She blushed a bit at her thoughts.

-**Loaded**-

-**Moving Units Away From Range**- … -**Complete**-

-**Initiating Attack**-

-**3**-

-**2**-

-**1**-

Sparks began to form in front of the center barrel. The sparks arced onto the main cannon. The sparks were now blue like plasma. The center barrel of the Megatank's main turret was covered in plasma-blue electrical veins. The veins pulsed and the cannon fired. Plasma-blue gas escaped from the barrel as the projectile exited the barrel. A distortion in the air radiated out from the barrel and a sonicboom followed soon after. The projectile was not the standard Black Hole tank round that it was once before…it was now white. The white projectile disintegrated after a short while…but not before leaving a scorched line of trees and earth right in front of the Megatank.

-**Processing Data**- … -**Processing Data**- … -**Complete**-

-**Reporting CO Power Diagnostic Test Results**-

-**120% Defense Rating, Movement Costs Reduced To Roads, 250%+ Attack Rating.** –

Jugger's report finished. Zene, Tabitha, Bolt, and 238B stared in awe at the incinerated patch of forest and earth. Zene stood atop the turret, awestruck at his powers. Tabitha stared in awe at how Zene exceeded her hopes. Bolt stared in awe at how Zene's ability surpassed even some CO's advanced abilities he faced before. 238B stared in horror as her 'food' was burnt, she was the first to speak up.

"You burnt perfectly good food!" She yelled at Zene. Bolt ruffled her hair and tried to calm her down.

"There are plenty of trees left. So don't worry."

"Yes Bolt." She said reluctantly. She was still mad at Zene for burning her food.

"Zene! I want to speak with you when you're done gawking!" Bolts words made Zene snap back to reality. He climbed down the tank and went up to the three at the ramp.

"Zene, I helped you with your ability. In an actual battle I will not be giving you the energy needed to activate your ability. You will have to gather your own power by yourself, either emotional power or get them from objects. My first ability, Short Circuit, lets me fuel my power from the meteorite shards, so it's best for you to rely on emotional power. Any emotion will do, it just has to be a strong enough emotion."

"I knew it wasn't that easy." Zene said. Bolt called out to Jugger.

"Prepare for departure! We will be heading off to the ruins to search for survivors! And Close the Bolt Arc when we leave ok?"

-**Understood**-

* * *

A/N I just added a 'b' to the original Oozium 238 (Yes...no creativity i know...) Ehh...i tried my best to make some sense of CO abilities. Zene knows how to use his power...but he doesnt know how to activate it...for now. I personally think that this is overkill, so i'm going to limit its use on small skirmishes.


	18. Delivery Complete

Days Of Ruin18…Never Ending

I do not own Advance Wars or any of the series…if I did…I would add custom COs.

-Radio-

-**Mechanical/Robotic**-

* * *

Zene, Tabitha, Bolt, 238B, and Jugger with his automated forces, now headed to the ruins of the capital that the raiders created. The group and company used the path made by the Diagnostic Test in order to avoid the hindrances made by forests. Zene and Tabitha were in their War Tank, and Bolt and 238B were on top of Jugger. It was only midday when they left the Arc; they had to pass through the scorched plains to get to the city or risk wasting time going around the plains.

The two large tanks led the way, artillery following right behind and tanks to the sides and rear of the artillery. Zene and Tabitha were currently inside the driving compartment of the War Tank. They saw the damage that Bolt could do with his ability. There were burnt husks of tanks, the ground was a scorched black, and the whole area was devoid of any active raiders. The two surveyed the damage shown on the onboard displays.

Zene broke the silence with some quiet words. "Those who enter war are those prepared to die." He looked across the displays that showed the impact of war.

Tabitha nodded. "All my soldiers were taught that, even the maintenance crews. If there is war, there is death." She remembered how her troops were trained after they were 'developed' they knew basic knowledge of war but needed to be taught how to discern enemies and use weapons. They free to choose their own regiment since Caulder said_ "I wish to research the effects of freedom one at a time."_ He was all about research, but the war with his clones left him with a tiny bit of kindness. It wasn't openly visible but it showed itself in the form of _"Research Purposes." _Like when he told the troops about death instead of telling them to go off immediately to war. Tabitha knew that if his kindness got in the way of research, he would prioritize research.

Off in the distance, the ruined skyline of the small capital came into view.

-**Approaching Capital**- … -**Detecting Hostile Forces**- … -**Preparing For Battle**- Jugger's robotic voice rang out from the radio. Zene let Tabitha have the controls since she insisted. She had complained that she hated feeling weak. Zene put on his gas mask and got up to take his position as the gunner. He stuck his head out to find 238B waving at him from the hatch of Jugger.

"Hey! Bolt told me to tell you just to use the radio to talk!" She said this over the noise of the engines. Zene wondered why she was so energetic, but passed it off as a normal behavior for children. He picked up the radio inside the turret and called out to Bolt.

"Bolt! Those are raiders, no need for mercy!"

The radio crackled back in response and Bolt's voice called. -I never show mercy in war! I'll be loading Jugger's ammunition and 238B will be using the machine gun! - Zene looked back at the happy-go-lucky girl, who waved back when she saw him. He spoke into the radio again.

"But she's only a girl! Can't Jugger load the cannons automatically?"

Bolt responded, laughing. -She knows how to fight in war! And I'm here to load because it's faster than Jugger's single-load system!-

Zene finished up his call when he began to see the enemy. "Blast them to smithereens!"

The enemies ahead of their position were the raiders that were once fighting against each other. They had called a truce ever since the plasma strike during their skirmish. The raiders had gathered up three artillery units, five recon units, two tank units, and seven mech groups. They took up combat positions; recons were in the front to slow the enemy, mechs stayed close behind to do a follow-up attack after the initial clash, artillery stayed back with the tanks.

Jugger's units went up and charged, the four tank units sped forward and decimated the recon units. The mechs took defensive positions behind the destroyed recon units. The raider artillery raised their barrels and fired. The raider mechs did a follow-up strike along with the artillery, destroying three of the four tank units.

Bolt wanted to hit Jugger for its stupidity. 'I thought Koal and Kindle would've fixed Jugger's attack style.'

Jugger's artillery did a counter-strike and fired into the defending raiders' position. Two of the mech divisions were eliminated and the raider's tank units began to make their move.

* * *

The raider mechs were in a state of panic. One of them called out.

"What the hell are those things?" More raiders began to join the confusion, their voices showing the panic and fear of the approaching behemoths.

"I say we run!"

"Y-yeah lets leave!" Panic filled the ranks of the raiders.

"R-RUN!"

"NO! They are just there just to intimidate us! We took out their things that were charging at us!" What seemed to be the leader of the mech division, called out to his men. The men were shaking, unsure to trust their eyes or their commander. The commander felt the uncertainty that the men were feeling.

"I'll lead the charge! ATTACK!" The commander charged forward toward the approaching tanks and their squad leader motivated the men, causing them to follow his decision. All the mech divisions charged forward and fired their rockets at the two tanks.

* * *

Zene saw the charging raiders. "Incoming! Let's gun them!" She nodded and went down the hatch to operate the Megatank's internal machine gun. Zene heard Bolt over the radio.

-Those are brave men! Lets go kill them!– Zene heard Tabitha laugh at Bolt's comment. Zene hadn't learned about the difference in strength, so he thought that the raiders had a chance at winning but Tabitha and Bolt knew the outcome when a War Tank/Megatank went up against regular soldiers. He decided to pay attention at the threat ahead.

The machine guns of the Megatank and War Tank ripped through the charging raiders, they had no chance and they placed their bet that the enemy was just putting up a front…they weren't. The raiders who managed to survive long enough to fire off their rockets found out that their weapons didn't even dent the approaching Tanks. The lucky few who survived were mowed down right after they saw their ineffective strike.

The raider tanks were charging forward, their artillery was attempting to soften up their targets. The shells hit the front of the tanks, but the combination of Zene's defense boost, Bolt's defense boost, and Tabitha's major defense boost rendered the shells ineffective, not even a scratch. Zene saw the incoming tanks and picked up the radio.

"I want a full salvo, NOW! FIRE!" Bolt heard his order and pressed the trigger, he had already pre-loaded the cannons. Tabitha shifted the turrets to the appropriate angle and pulled the triggers.

The ten blasts produced ten deadly rounds. It took only four out of the ten rounds to utterly decimate the tanks and the remainder blasted past the destroyed tanks and into the raider artillery. Ahead of their position the group saw the raider artillery get wiped out. Jugger's voice echoed through the radio.

-**Hostiles Eliminated**- … -**Calculating Losses**- … -**Three Tank Units Lost**- … -**Disengaging Battle Mode**-

* * *

238B popped out of the Megatank and began to sit atop the turret.

"The wind feels great! …But it doesn't smell so good…" She had mixed feelings since she liked the wind but disliked the smell of smoke and gunpowder.

"You're lucky." She pouted as she saw Zene with his gas mask on. He enjoyed the joys of the wind while avoiding the smell of smoke with his mask. He gave a thumbs up and that made her pout even more, apparently she doesn't like him so much.

The remaining units passed the burnt-out husks of the raider forces. Up ahead the city was coming into sharper view. There were skeletons of the buildings, collapsed brick buildings, smoking vehicles both civilian and military, and numerous scorch marks throughout the streets.

Zene's forces decided it was better to head to the center of the capital to begin their search, since it was an ideal place to defend against the raider forces.

The Tanks and artillery rolled through the streets. The two large tanks led the way, pushing aside debris, creating a path for the vehicles behind. The group began to slow down as the objects ahead came into view.

Down the main road of the capital was a formation of Anti-Tank units forming a perimeter, blocking all roads into the center of the ruined capital. The tanks stood a good distance in front of the guns; the unknown units held their position and lowered the barrels so the tanks could look straight down them. There was a silence between the two forces, save for the humming of the engines. Zene had to risk an attack if he went for a diplomatic approach, or he could just get ready for an attack and minimize the damage taken when a counterstrike began.

Jugger's artillery began to angle their barrels up for a potential salvo. The machines whirred and began the numerous calculations for the shells.

The silence was deafening, in a way. Several minutes have passed and not a single unit moved, both forces tensed in preparation for an attack.

A soldier, presumably their leader, walked up with a megaphone. "State your business, Raiders!"

Zene disembarked the tank and walked up with a smirk and pointed with his thumb to the supplies on his War Tank, "Commander Tasha sends you gifts"

* * *

_An image fades in...showing a handshake...the two hands were like father and son...one hand, old and worn...the other, growing and unblemished...but...they both wore the essence of war...life, death, anger, and joy...  
_

* * *

Author's Note: This arc is finished and I will rest. I thank you for reading my work. Ask away and i shall answer to my best ability.

_The story will never stop...just like the march of time...~Zavefed_


End file.
